Pinky Promise
by Kitty Faerie
Summary: Alfred and Arthur are just trying to make ends meet. They don't believe their lives can get any more complicated until they meet Peter and Lily, two run away orphans. Through all the struggles, hardships, and joy they find a way to become a family. USUK
1. In the Rain

_I hope I caught your interest! I have high hopes for this fic :3_

_My new fic~ I just... It just hit me. Please enjoy!_

_America: Alfred  
>England: Arthur<br>Sealand: Peter  
>Liechtenstein: Lily<em>

_Full Summary: Alfred and Arthur are newly weds just trying to make ends meet. Barely getting by, they don't believe their lives can get any more complicated until they meet Peter and Lily, two run away orphans. They don't have the money to care for them, but the children need a stable home and a family to love them. Through all the struggles and hardships, through all the laughter and fun, they manage to become a close family._

_USUK, a few other minor pairings._

_This is AU, just so you know~_

_(Title subject to change)_

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><p>"Do you have your lunch, love?"<p>

"Come on! When do I ever forget it?"

"Oh, well let's see. How about yesterday, and the day before, and two times last week, and-"

"Okay, okay! I get it! But I have it, I swear! See?"

"Good because I can't keep taking time out of my day to go deliver your bloody food to you. I'm busy too, you know. Now, come here; your tie is all messed up. Honestly, Alfred. How did you ever manage to get anywhere in life without knowing how to tie a tie?"

"I don't like wearing ties!"

"I can see that. But you have an important meeting today, so you have to look your best." … "Oh, don't give me that face. Get your arse over here!"

With a pout, a tall blonde haired, blue eyed man trudged over to other, shorter blonde, green eyed man. He was wearing a suit, though he looked like he had slept in his clothes. They were wrinkled and messy. When the other male noticed, he frowned and scowled, but didn't say anything. He knew he had to pick his battles and he had already picked the issue of the tie.

"Artie, you don't need to fuss over me all the time," the taller male whined. Arthur glared up at him with venomous green eyes, one of the twitching slightly.

"Oh, yes I do, Alfred. For God's sake, you look like you've been in those clothes for a week! They're all wrinkled! Why didn't you have me iron them? Then maybe you could have looked halfway decent. And what have I told you about calling me 'Artie?' My name's Arthur, you insufferable git!" Arthur took the tie and looped it around, tying it with skill Alfred didn't and probably would never possess.

"Aww, but I'm _your_ insufferable git!" Alfred smiled a childish and sweet smile. His blue eyes shone brightly as they always did through his thin wired glasses. His teeth were a pearly white (with help from Arthur, of course. If he had a dollar for every night he had to tell the idiot to brush his damn teeth, he'd be rich and they would be living in a nice house instead of a rundown apartment) and his golden hair was all combed except for one annoying piece that never stayed down. Arthur had tried many times to tame that beast and failed miserably each and every time.

Arthur blushed at the comment. He was British and proud, a very dangerous combination. He was short tempered and hot headed, but was also kind and caring and, of course, the love of Alfred's life. They had their fights and sometimes they lasted days, but one stupid comment like that would get Arthur quiet and blushing like mad.

"Yes, that you are," Arthur mumbled, keeping his gaze on the American flag tie instead of on Alfred's smirking eyes. He finished with the tie and went to pat out as many wrinkles as he could. Alfred sighed heavily, but kept a happy smile on his face.

It was mornings like this that he relished in. He always whined and complained, but he loved when Arthur fussed over him. He loved the fact that he could never tie a tie and Arthur always had to help him. He loved the feel of Arthur's hands over his suit as he tried to brush out the wrinkles. He loved the sound of Arthur's accented voice yelling at him and then growing soft and kind before he left.

There was one thing he didn't love. Arthur's cooking. But Arthur hadn't cooked this morning, so it was all good.

Alfred glanced at the clock on the oven. "I'd better get going, babe. I've gotta good walk to work." He lifted Arthur's chin so the other was forced to look at him. Arthur smiled and willingly leaned in for a kiss on the lips. It lasted four point seven seconds, like it did every morning (that Arthur wasn't pissed off) and ended with five point three seconds of the couple smiling stupidly at each other.

"You wouldn't have to walk if we had a car," Arthur finally sighed, stepping back an inch. Alfred looked at him sadly.

"I know. One day, we'll be able to afford one." Then, his face brightened. "And hey, it's how I keep in shape! I mean, I wouldn't have these awesome muscles if I sat in a car all day!" He shot a winning smile at Arthur. The other paused for a moment before attempting a smile of his own. It wasn't a bright or happy as Alfred's, but it was a smile.

Arthur didn't know how he did it. How was Alfred able to stay so positive when it was obvious they were in a bad situation. They couldn't even afford a car for goodness sakes! Arthur couldn't count how many times the poor man had to walk home in the rain and dry off on the doorstep with a ratty old towel. Still, every night before bed, Alfred would whisper soft and kind, a contrast from his usual loud and obnoxious voice, "Things'll get better. Pinky promise." And Alfred would take his pinky before falling asleep. The craziest part? Arthur sometimes actually believed him.

Alfred picked up his briefcase as he headed to the door. "Be back tonight, dude!" He smiled again at Arthur before pulling on his favorite bomber jacket. He always wore the stupid thing. Neither he not Arthur knew where or when Alfred had gotten it, but for as long as either could remember, the American always had it on.

"Alfred! You're going to a meeting! Don't-" Arthur cut himself off as the door slammed and Alfred's feet echoing down the hallway died down. He sighed and rubbed his temples, but smiled as he removed his hand from his face.

Arthur went to the kitchen table and sat down heavily. The morning bliss was officially over and now it was time to find out if today was the day they wouldn't be able to pay their bills. He took his check book out along with the horrid white envelopes that came in the mail almost everyday. It was one thing after another. Gas, lighting, water, cellphones. The list stretched on and on to Arthur.

Today's latest was a bill from his medical school. He was attending classes so he could get a medical degree.

Both he and Alfred were young; Alfred was twenty and Arthur was twenty one. The two had known each other since high school where they quickly became best friends. Soon, the friendship turned into something more and they started going out, secretly at first. Then, they started becoming more open with each other (much to Arthur's displeasure at first). Alfred proposed on their graduation day when Arthur was nineteen and Alfred was eighteen. They were married the very next year.

One could probably say they rushed into things too quickly. That person is probably correct. They were both heading off to college, so it was not the best time to tie the knot. Still, what was done was done and now they had to do their best to support themselves.

Alfred, though dim in other areas, was actually a rather smart boy. He was by far the top of his class and graduated a few years earlier than he was supposed to with the promise of an internship at a law firm that would soon turn into a job. He probably would have declined the offer had he known that the job paid almost nothing and he never got any good paying cases. Usually, he dealt with the petty crimes. Money owed for fixing a window on a car a few kids busted, exes arguing over which things were theirs, juveniles who vandalized abandoned (or seemingly abandoned) buildings. Those kind of cases. He never got the custody battles, the rape cases, or the murder trials. He never got clients who were wealthy. Somehow, those cases seemed to "pass over" him. But, as previously stated, he wasn't stupid. He knew his superiors were screwing him over.

Arthur, on the other hand, had wanted to be a writer. He wanted to write and publish book series for all to read and enjoy. Unfortunately, that dream was sent to a crashing halt when he figured no one would buy his works. A bout of low self confidence even Alfred couldn't help sent him to medical school where he decided to find a more "practical" job.

Now they had bills up to their ears. They didn't own a credit card, so it wasn't that they drowned in that kind of debt. Actually, they were just barley managing to stay out of debt for the most part. But with Alfred's low paying job and Arthur's medical school bills, times were hard. They were still paying off the wedding. It hadn't even been a large wedding, but they had to pay for it all themselves. Arthur's parents had died when he was young and Alfred's parents refused to help or even come because they didn't agree with his life decision. His twin brother would have gladly helped had he had money himself. But Matthew was in Canada trying to find his own way and simply didn't have much money.

Arthur held his head up with his hand as he sat at the table, brushing through his shaggy blonde locks, a pen tapped thoughtfully to his lips. He started to write, but unconsciously. He wasn't writing numbers or mailing addresses. Instead, it was a summary of yet another story he would never actually write or publish. When he was finished, he blinked back to reality and looked at the napkin. He sighed to himself and got up, placing the scrap of paper in a tiny kitchen drawer filled to the top with many others like it.

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><p>Alfred sighed with relief as he loosened his tie and walked down the streets of the city (of course he had learned how to loosen a tie instead of learning how to actually tie one). Work had been brutal. Yet again, he had a shot at getting a huge and well paying case, but had been shot down by those who "knew better than him" and "were more experienced." He didn't know what it was about him that made the others treat him this way. He knew he was as qualified, if not more in some instances, to take on the bigger cases. Someone was obviously trying to pull him down and they had been doing it for a year now.<p>

It could be worse, he figured with a sigh, trying to keep up his ever optimistic attitude. At least he had been assigned a case today. Finally. After three weeks. It was just some kid who thought it would be funny to spray paint _"Your liver's made of plastic"_ on each wall of his school. He already knew what the defense would be.

"_Oh, he's just a child. Children don't think straight sometimes."_

"_Surely he can work it off."_

"_He only has another year of school. Maybe place him under strict super vision until he graduates."_

Alfred didn't really care if the kid went to Juvie or was released. It wasn't his problem and he would be paid the same either way.

As he walked, he felt a small _drip_ on the tip of his nose. He tilted his head back and looked up at the sky. Hmm... When had it gotten so cloudy?

Just as Alfred thought this, the sky opened up and a downpour cascaded down with a rubble of thunder.

"Really?" Alfred shouted at the sky, glaring at the clouds or God or just simply everything. With a sigh and a stop of his foot, he pulled his bomber jacket up over his head and used his briefcase to further shield him as he ran down the deserted streets. Arthur better have a towel waiting for him at home.

He ran down the sidewalk, turning left, then right, then right again. He was a few blocks from home when he heard something. It was a soft cough. Had the cough been sounded a second later, it would have been drowned out by the loud thunder and flickering of light as lightning lit up the dark sky. There was a small shriek and then the sound of someone crying. Then, someone's voice.

"... On. Don't cry. … Nothing... be afraid of..." Alfred blinked and stopped. He found himself following the soft whispers, trying to make them out better.

"Don't cry, Lily. It's just... Uh, well... It's the angel's bowling! Yeah! And they're having lotsa fun bowling right now, but they wouldn't want you to be scared!" There was a pause, interrupted only by a heavy sigh. "Just rest, okay? You need more sleep." Alfred couldn't tell who was speaking. The sound of rain and thunder completely drowned out any pitch or accent the speaker might have. He could only make out the words, but he could tell they were comforting.

The voice continued to say soothing words and Alfred used that as a trail. He followed the voice to a small alley jammed in between an apartment building and a bank. There was a trash can in the corner, but that wasn't what made him jump back in surprise. He wasn't even looking at some stupid trash can. Instead, he was looking at two small children huddled against the wall. The taller one, a boy, was trying to shield the shorter, a girl judging by the dress, from the rain that fell mercilessly on them.

Neither noticed as Alfred approached, the rain drowning out his footsteps. He didn't want to scare them so, for once, he was quiet. He was about three feet away, trying to make himself look not so menacing, when the boy turned around. His blue eyes were wide with fear and a hint of exhaustion. He clutched the girl closer to him.

"Who are you?" he demanded. Now that Alfred was closer, he was able to detect a thick British accent. It was high pitched, matching the boy's size. Honestly, he didn't look much older than eight, but Alfred couldn't be sure. The boy was obviously trying to show no fear, probably for the sake of the little girl in his arms. Her green eyes were glazed over with tiredness and fear. Alfred could tell with the help of a light from a kitchen window of an apartment that she had pale blonde hair a shade lighter than the boy's.

"I'm Alfred. What are you doing out here in the rain all alone?" Alfred looked down at the two with concern. The boy glared and scooted himself and the girl further into the alley. Alfred sighed and knelt down, keeping himself elevated on the tips of his feet while his bottom rested on his heals.

"We're playing!" It was a horrible lie, but the boy was obviously trying to get the strange man to go away. Alfred nodded as though he believed him.

"Right. So, you're out here in the middle of a storm 'playing?'" he asked with disbelief. The boy then realized how ridiculous it sounded when Alfred said it. He was silent and only clutched the girl tighter.

They sat there for a few more moments before the girl let out a few harsh coughs. She was asleep, but her eyes were shut tight in pain. Alfred glanced over at her with worry.

"What's wrong with her?" he asked.

"Nothing! Go away, jerk! Just leave us alone!" the boy shouted.

"Shh," Alfred said softly. "You shouldn't shout while she's sleeping." He met the boy's glare with a smile. "Come on. I'll take you guys home and get you all cleaned up. Then we can call your parents."

The boy opened his mouth to shout a response, but when he felt the girl shiver and cough in his arms, he closed it. Hesitantly, he nodded and looked up at Alfred. Alfred smiled softly and slowly stretched out an arm until he was against the girl's forehead. She shivered unconsciously at the touch. Though she was shivering, Alfred noted, she was burning up and needed to get dry and safe soon.

"May I pick her up?" he asked. He figured it would be best to ask first before he just carried her away. The boy paused, but nodded, loosening his grip a little. Alfred took off his bomber jacket and wrapped it tightly around the girl before standing up with her in his arms. She was shaking violently which worried Alfred.

"Come on," he said kindly to the boy and outstretched his hand. There was another pause, but the boy took it and Alfred pulled him up. "I'm only a few blocks from my place. You two will be safe and dry in no time!" He shot a winning smile at the boy, but he just frowned and walked alongside Alfred.

"By the way, what's your name?" Alfred eventually asked when they were a block from him. The boy didn't respond for a long moment. Alfred was about to ask again, but he was interrupted.

"Peter. And that's Lily," he said shortly. Alfred nodded. It was obvious the boy didn't want to and wasn't going to answer any more questions. Besides, it wouldn't be fair to him to bombard him with questions before they even got home.

Together with Peter, and Lily in his arms, Alfred walked the rest of the way home. Either way, Arthur was going to be in for a huge surprise.

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><p><em>AN_

_*And there you have it, the first chapter. I hope you like it. It's a bit... different, no? I was thinking about Alfred and Arthur adopting children, but didn't want to deal with OCs._

_*Before you ask, Switzerland IS in this. But that's ALL I'm telling you. So don't go bugging me about other things. You really just have to trust me._

_*I'm trying to keep Peter in character. He'll open up a little later, but for now, he's dealing with being picked off the streets be the hero~_

_* "Your Liver's Made of Plastic": An inside joke between my friend and I xD I tend to add in little things like that. I'll point them out when I remember to._

_* Poor Artie. So angsty with the summary writing ;A;_

_So, please review and help encourage me!~ As with all my stories, I hope this is an enjoyable ride for us all!_


	2. Hero

_Uhm... Wow o.o I can't believe I got so many reviews so fast! And alerts and faves! Wow, thank you all so much! It's a pleasure to write~ And I promise, I'll update my other stuff soon~_

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><p>"Arthur, grab the towels!"<p>

"I know, I know, love. It's right on the rack."

"No, no! Grab all the towels!"

"All of them? Alfred, come on! I still have to take a shower tonight. And, no, you cannot join me."

"Artie! Don't talk like that! I'm serious! Bring me the freaking towels! All of them!"

Arthur blinked and looked up from his work on the kitchen table. First, Alfred never came home from work in a bad mood. Sure, he would talk about how he got screwed over, but his voice would still always seem optimistic. Maybe it wasn't anger, though. It seemed more like he was frantic or nervous, two things Alfred F. Jones never was. He was the bloody "hero" after all.

Second, Alfred never. _Ever_. Told Arthur to stop talking dirty. Hell, he loved it when Arthur would say something sexual. And when Arthur would tell him he couldn't sleep or shower with him, Alfred would pout and whine until he got his way. _Especially_ after work. Something was up.

Still, Arthur got up and ran to the hall closet, pulling out the few towels they had. He then went to the bathroom and grabbed the ones in there before heading back to the front door.

"I swear to God, Alfred, if you stepped one foot in this house and got the living room all wet, I'll castrate you. And I'm not joking this—" His eyes widened as he took in the sight that was right around the corner. His mouth opened, then closed. Then opened and closed again.

"First, off, Artie, this isn't a house. This is an apartment," Alfred said with slight teasing. He noticed Arthur's shock, but chose to ignore it for the time being. "But Arthur, gimme the towels!" He reached for the towels, trying not to step off the mat as though the rest of the floor was lava.

Arthur, as though in a daze, handed over the towel to Alfred. "A-Al... Who are..." His voice failed him and he couldn't go on. He gestured to the two children. Lily was still shivering as Alfred pealed off the bomber jacket, tossing the soaked thing to the ground. He began to wrap her up in a towel and dry her off. He then handed her to Arthur.

"She's sick, so be careful. But dry her off." Alfred then turned to Peter and began to get him dry. He glared and grabbed the towel, starting to dry himself off. Alfred chuckled softly and helped with the hair, much to his disliking.

Arthur blinked, but started to dry the girl off. She coughed, but didn't stir as he got the wetness off her drenched body. He frowned and placed a hand on her forehead.

"Alfred, she's burning up," he reported, looking over at Alfred who had finished with Peter and was now drying himself off.

"Yeah, she's not doing too well," Alfred nodded. "You think she'll be alright?" Arthur paused for a moment, but nodded with a slightly confident smile. He wanted an explanation, but for now he had to help the children and make sure they were alright.

"Awesome," Alfred sighed. Peter seemed to brighten as well. "Give her our room. We can crash on the pull out couch. And I have shirts she can use as a night gown." Arthur nodded and hurried her off to the master bedroom.

Peter turned to look at Alfred. "Don't worry, I have some shirts you can use too. They should be perfect for night shirts." Alfred smiled, but Peter still frowned. He glanced off after Lily, worry etched in his face. Alfred picked up on this immediately.

"Don't worry," Alfred said softly and placed a hand on Peter's shoulder. "She'll be alright. Arthur's a doctor in training and he knows lots of smart stuff. She'll be fine in no time! Is she your sister or something?"

"... Yes and no."

"'Yes and no?'" Alfred asked, tilting his head to the side. "What do you mean?"

Peter looked away and didn't answer. Alfred sighed and started to hang the wet towels on the rack. As he was finishing, Peter let out a sneeze followed by another and then coughed. He wiped at his nose and looked up at Alfred hoping that somehow he hadn't heard. Alfred smiled knowingly, having heard him easily.

"I think it's time for bed," Alfred said kindly. Peter sighed and nodded. He was tired and his head hurt. Plus, he was cold, but he wouldn't admit it.

Alfred touched his shoulder gently and led him to the master bedroom. Lily was tucked into the bed neatly while Arthur was attending to her. He placed a cool cloth on her head as they entered and looked up, smiling softly. He placed a finger to his lips to tell them to be quiet. Alfred and Peter nodded as Alfred made his way to the dressed and pulled out one of his hamburger t shirts. He handed it to Peter with a smile. Peter looked at it for a moment before taking it to the bathroom and going to change.

Alfred came over to the bed. "How is she?" he whispered, wrapping his arm around Arthur's waist.

"Better," Arthur responded with a faint blush. "Her fever's still up there, but it should go down soon. She's breathing much easier as well and when she wakes up, I can give her some medicine." He then turned to Alfred and placed his hands on his hips, glaring at the American. "And _you _have a lot of explaining to do."

"I know, I know," Alfred sighed. "I'll explain as much as I can when Peter goes to bed."

"I'm not tired!" a voice said loudly. Alfred and Arthur spun around, Arthur glaring because he hadn't been quiet. Peter walked into the room and looked up at the bed.

"What are you doing?" he demanded. "Is she alright?"

"Yes, lad," Arthur said softly with a small edge in his voice. "She'll be fine if you just let me help her and let her rest." Peter looked up at him and glared, crossing his arms.

"Hey, let's head into the living room," Alfred suggested, trying to break the tension that had arisen. "Then we can get this all straightened out." Peter and Arthur looked at him before nodding and leaving the room. Alfred sighed with relief and left as well. He kept a small light on for Lily in case she woke up and headed into the living room.

Peter sat in the arm chair and Arthur was on the couch, staring him down. Alfred took a seat next to Arthur and placed an arm around his waist again. "So, Peter, where are your parents?" Alfred asked, deciding to not beat around the bush. Peter looked tired and Alfred wanted to try to get as much information from him as possible.

Peter glared at him. "Dead." Alfred and Arthur froze. They weren't expecting this response.

"Then where is your guardian?" Arthur inquired, his voice losing that harsh edge. He knew what it was like to lose parents. It must be hard for the young boy. "And why were you on the street?"

"I don't have a guardian," Peter said. "And we got away from the orphanage."

Alfred nodded. "Which one?" He hadn't heard of an orphanage in the area.

Peter's glare intensified. "It's gone, so you can't just send us back. We ran away because they were closing and they were going to ship us away from each other! So, we ran and hid."

Arthur thought for a moment. "Yes, I think I heard something about a home for orphaned children closing a little while ago. Maybe a year or so?" Peter nodded.

"You mean you guys have been on the street for a year?" Alfred asked, his eyes widening. "Dude, that's totally dangerous for kids your age!"

"So?" Peter said dangerously. "It was the only way to stay together." Alfred and Arthur just nodded. What was done was done. It wasn't worth going on and on about how wrong and potentially dangerous the decision to run away had been. They were safe now. That's what mattered.

"How old are you two?" Alfred asked.

"I'm twelve and Lily is ten."

"Are you and Lily siblings?" Arthur questioned, asking the same thing Alfred had previously. Peter shrugged.

"...Yes and no."

Arthur glared a tad. "Lad, we're trying to help you. Now is not the time to give us vague answers. Are you siblings or aren't you?"

Peter glared right back. "We're not related by blood, but she's my best friend and like a sister to me," he said rudely. "I'm the only family she's got and she's the only family I got. So, we're siblings."

"Ah! I get it," Alfred smiled. "Well, you're safe here, okay? There's no need to worry." He showed off his best smile, but Peter remained expressionless.

Arthur sighed. "Now, off to bed with you," he said as kindly as he could. Peter was starting to get on his nerves, but he was trying to show a little bit of kindness towards the boy. Peter looked like he was about to refuse, but decided against it when he yawned.

Alfred took the liberty of showing him to the guest room. There was only a small twin bed in the center of the room. It was all Alfred and Arthur could afford. Matthew, Alfred's brother, sometimes visited and needed a place to sleep. So, they went out and got the cheapest bed they could find that was still somewhat comfortable. They needed to be frugal, but didn't want to kill poor Matthew's back.

Alfred pulled back the covers and Peter climbed in. Alfred tucked him in with a smile. "Night, buddy. We'll get everything straightened out for you guys."

Peter settled in and looked up at the American. "Are we going to stay with you?"

"Well, yeah! You guys need to get better!"

"I mean forever..."

Alfred stopped short. He looked at Peter who now had a pleading expression on his face. Instead of the snarky boy who was trying to be brave, he saw a frightened child who just wanted a place to call home. Alfred could imagine that the boy had never really had a stable home. The orphanage didn't count. They never do. Lily was all he had. No parents, no aunts or uncles. Just Lily and himself.

"Do you want to?"

Peter didn't answer. Probably his pride, Alfred figured. But he could see it in his eyes. The answer was 'yes.' Peter just wanted a place to call home. He wanted Lily to be safe as well and living on the streets would not be an option for that to happen. Going to a home or an orphanage also wasn't an option in his mind. He and Lily weren't related by blood, so it would be close to impossible to stay together. This was the best shot they had.

Alfred smiled and ruffled Peter's hair. "We'll see. Now, go to sleep. Night, kiddo!" He then turned and walked out, shutting off the light, but leaving the door opened a crack. The sound of Alfred's fading footsteps lulled Peter into the most comfortable sleep he had ever had.

Alfred wandered back to the living room where he found Arthur by the door, checking the damage of the soaked towels and bomber jacket. Alfred smiled.

"I think just a run through the dryer will save 'em," he smiled. "I mean, they're just towels. And my jacket can withstand anything!" He chuckled as Arthur turned around to face him.

"I guess. Now, explain." Arthur crossed his arms and stared down his husband. Alfred gulped. He had seen that glare before and barely lived.

"Arthur, don't get all mad," he whined. "I was just doing what was right! I couldn't just leave them there! Lily was obviously sick and Peter looked so tired! I had to help them! I'm a hero!"

"Alfred, I know you're the hero. And you'll always be my hero." Arthur's voice was surprisingly kind. "But you can't just go around picking up random kids. We have to get them well and send them on their way."

"What?" Alfred yelled. "Arthur, we can't let them go on the streets again!" Arthur glared.

"No, you idiot. I mean send them to a home or an orphanage. I'm sure there's a foster service somewhere around here." Alfred made an 'o' shape with his mouth, but quickly looked away. He realized that wasn't what he wanted to do.

Arthur noticed the change in Alfred's demeanor. "Alfred... You don't... You don't honestly want to keep them, do you?" Arthur asked in disbelief. "Alfred, look at us! We're just barely getting by! We hardly have enough for food and we can't afford a car. It's only a matter of time before we get a bill we can't pay! How are supposed to take in not one, but two children and effectively care for them?"

"You always said you wanted kids..." Alfred tried. It was true, Arthur was usually great with children. He loved them and had said a few times before that he would love to adopt a few. Then again, he also wanted to get out of debt and move into a nice home.

"Alfred, that's before we ended up like this," Arthur sighed. "We don't have the money. I... Well, I would love to keep them, but we can't. It's not feasible right now."

"... Peter wants to stay..."

"Alfred..."

"They deserve a stable home..."

"Al..."

"And I love you..." Alfred looked up at Arthur with huge puppy eyes. Damn those eyes. Dammit all! That was certainly Arthur's weakness. Alfred could get anything with those eyes. Except sex... Usually.

"I'll... I'll think about it," Arthur finally sighed. Alfred smiled and jumped up, wrapping Arthur in a hug. The Brit struggled for only a moment before sighed and relaxing into the embrace. He hugged Alfred back and laid his head on Alfred's shoulder.

"You're a giant kid." Arthur rolled his eyes. Alfred only hugged him tighter.

"But I'm _your_ giant kid!" Alfred said with a huge smile.

"Git," Arthur mumbled. He then smiled and kissed Alfred's cheek. "Now go pull out the couch, 'hero.' I'm tired." Alfred laughed and pulled away from the hug to pull out the couch.

"Am I really your hero?" Alfred asked as he brought over some blankets. Arthur looked away, his arms crossed and a dark blush on his cheeks.

"You're... Well, you're a lot of people's hero."

* * *

><p><em>*It's a little early for this and I hope I don't scare anyone off by doing this, but... Could you vote in a poll for me? I just want to know who, if anyone, you want Peter to be paired with. It's either going to be Ravis, Lily, or no one. I'm fine with any of them, but I want to know what you guys want. If Peter isn't with Lily, she won't be paired with anyone, no OCs or anything. So, please vote on my profile or in reviews. Thank you~<em>

_*I guess Peter's a little bratty right now, huh? He's just tired and scared._

_Please review (and vote) if you have the chance. It helps me improve my writing. I never will say *blank* reviews or I won't update, but it's nice when you do drop me a few lines~ Just press the little button right there. I promise it doesn't bite :3_


	3. Can't

The bright morning sun filtered into the small kitchen. It danced off the walls and made the glasses on the drying rack sparkle. It was a pleasant sight, one that Alfred enjoyed seeing when he didn't have to go to the office. Still, he would have enjoyed not having to do any work at all, but sitting in the sun was much nicer than sitting in the dusty old office.

He sat at the kitchen table working on the case. While he didn't really care what happened to the kid, he still had to at least try or he wouldn't be paid well, and he needed all the money he could get. He wrote down notes in his messy scrawl about how and why the kid shouldn't go to jail, but his mind was wandering.

It was eleven in the morning and neither of the kids had woken up yet. Arthur told him it might be a while before Lily woke up, but he felt that Peter should have been awake by then. Then again, he had spent the last year or so on the streets. Surely he was wicked tired.

Arthur had left for classes two hours before. He told Alfred that if Lily woke up to give her some medicine that he set out on the kitchen counter. He also told him to call if her fever was worse or something even so much as seemed wrong. Alfred smiled inwardly to himself remembering how worried Arthur looked. Maybe it wouldn't be so hard to convince him to keep the children. He seemed very worried about Lily's health although he promised she would get better soon. Alfred never doubted his medical expertice, so he knew the Brit was saying it truthfully and not just with hope.

Alfred and Arthur had both checked on the children before Arthur had to leave and Alfred was checking every fifteen minutes. Lily showed no signs of waking up as did Peter. Arthur told him to let them sleep as long as they needed. If he got home and they were still asleep, he would play it by year as to wake them up or not.

The click of a lock and the opening of a door made Alfred jump and accidently draw a line on his paper. He looked back at it, having felt his hand move, and erased the line. He then glanced back at the old front door as Arthur came in. He placed his old Union Jack backpack on the ground by the coat rack and hung up his trench coat. Picking up his backpack, he placed it on the living room chair and went into the kitchen.

"Hey, Artie. How was class?" Alfred asked with a small smile to his husband. Arthur sighed like he did after every class before returning the soft smile.

"Oh, it was alright. Mighty boring, but alright," he said. Arthur said that all the time and it made Alfred wonder if the classes ever were fun or interesting or if Arthur simply hated what he was doing with his life. Deep down, Alfred knew it was the later, but refused to bring it up. Still, he hated seeing Arthur doing something he wasn't going to be happy with.

"How are the children?" Arthur took a seat across from Alfred looking at him intently. It was obvious they weren't up yet, so Arthur wanted to know their condition.

"Haven't woken up yet," Alfred reported, beginning with the obvious. "But Lily doesn't seem any worse and Peter is just tired, I think" Arthur nodded.

"I'm going to go tend to Lily. How about you go try and get Peter up?" Arthur suggested. "They must be starving, the poor things, having been out on the streets for so long. Surely at least Peter is hungry." Alfred smiled at the softness in Arthur's voice. He felt that he was winning the battle and maybe, just maybe, Arthur would let them keep the kids. He just had to keep Arthur around them and caring for them.

Alfred stuffed the papers into his briefcase. He had a little while before he actually had to appear in court and no one was asking him to meet with the kid or his family. All he had to do was make a case and he would get paid. He was rather pleased about that especially with the kids. Now, he could focus on getting them better because, honestly, anybody with a brain could make a defense for this particular case.

Alfred tapped on the door frame lightly and paused there. "Hey, Peter? You awake?" he asked softly. He got a small groan as a response and the shifting of blankets as the boy in the bed turned over. He pressed the covers over his head and curled into a ball.

"It's time to get up, dude," Alfred chuckled softly, venturing a little further into the room. "It's past breakfast now, but want something for lunch? We've got some sandwiches and mac n' cheese and some chicken nuggets and stuff."

Peter opened his blue eyes and sat up, rubbing them. He looked dazed and slightly confused. Alfred figured that he had woken up not knowing where he was which probably startled him. He crawled out of the bed and looked at Alfred.

"Yeah, I'm hungry, Mister." Alfred couldn't help but chuckle. He couldn't tell if Peter was trying to be polite or if he just didn't know what to call Alfred. Alfred figured it was the later. Peter seemed a little more energized now that he had actually gotten some rest. It was probably exhaustion that caused him to be a little snappy last night.

"Then, c'mon!" Alfred started for the door. "And I'm just Alfred. Don't bother calling me Mister, kay? And Artie's just Arthur." Alfred shot him a smile before heading down the hall and into the kitchen. Peter blinked and paused, but then rushed after him.

* * *

><p>Arthur opened the door to the master bedroom quietly and slipped inside. His bright green eyes instantly drifted to the bed where Lily was still asleep. He sighed softly and came over, placing a hand on her head. It was warm, but starting to go down. Heading into the bathroom, he got a damp cloth and laid it across her forehead.<p>

He looked down at the small girl and brushed through her hair gently. Her blue-violet ribbon was on Alfred's night table next to his discarded American flag tie and hamburger shaped alarm clock. How he wished he really could take them in. Alfred was right, he did love children, but they had no money.

He shook his head to shoo the thoughts away. It didn't matter now. All that mattered was getting these kids better and finding them a home. He pat her shoulder lightly and stood up to leave when he heard a chocked gasp and what sounded like crying. He turned around and saw the girl staring up at him with wide and fearful eyes. Immediately, he sat back down and touched her gently.

"Hello, love," he said softly. "Now, don't you cry. Everything is alright. You have quite the fever, but we're getting that down quickly, okay?" She continued to simply stare at him, a tear slipping down her cheek. He brushed it away and smiled. "You're safe here, alright? Stiff upper lip, okay? Now, let me go grab some medicine and I'll be right back."

He stood up again and hurried out. Alfred was digging around in the fridge and Peter was seated at the kitchen table. Alfred looked up when he heard the footsteps. "Hey, Artie, do you know where the chicken nuggets are?"

Arthur didn't answer. Instead, he grabbed the medicine, two spoons, and Alfred's jar of sugar he used for coffee before running back to the room where Lily lay. Peter watched him go and turned to Alfred. "Is Lily alright?" he asked with a hint of suspicion. He slid off the chair and leaned in the direction of the bedroom.

"She's fine," Alfred assured, "Now sit back down and I'll find us something good to eat. Artie will tell you when you can go see her. I'm sure that'll be soon." Peter hesitated, but sat back down and waited for Alfred to find something.

Back in the bedroom, Arthur poured the red looking liquid onto the small silver spoon. Lily watched him with wide green eyes. She wasn't sure what he was going to do and was still scared. Arthur suddenly groaned and set the spoon down on the table being sure not the spill any of the medicine. He went into the bathroom and came back out with a glass of water.

"There we go. I just forgot the water." He smiled at her and gently helped her sit up. She didn't struggle against his hold and allowed herself to be propped up against the fluffy pillows. Arthur then picked up the spoon with medicine on it. "Now, this is going to taste very yucky, but I have a few things to get rid of the taste. And it will make you better, alright?" He held out the spoon, but wasn't going to just shove it in her mouth. He knew that might scare her.

When she nodded and opened her mouth for him, he placed the spoon inside and slipped it out. Her face twisted up and she struggled to swallow the fowl tasting medicine. He quickly dipped the other spoon into the sugar jar and popped that in her mouth. She blinked and looked up at him before she tasted the sweet sugar. After swallowing, she smiled and giggled softly. This nearly made Arthur's heart melt. He handed her the glass of water which she drank gratefully.

"There you go. Now, that wasn't so bad, was it?"

"No," she said quietly. Her voice was soft and barely audible. She blushed slightly and looked down. "Thank you." Then, her eyes widened and her head shot up. "Where's Peter?"

Arthur chuckled and placed a hand on her shoulder. "He's in the kitchen with Alfred getting something to eat. But he's safe. You're both safe now." Lily nodded. "Are you hungry?"

"No, I'm tired," she responded honestly, looking up at him with tired green eyes. He nodded in understanding. She reached up to brush a strand of hair back when her eyes widened again. Frantically, Lily grabbed at the side of her hair. "Where's my ribbon?"

"Right here, love, relax." Arthur smiled and handed it to her. She sighed with relief and took it, attempting to place it in her hair. Every time she would let go, it would flop out of her hair or hang on by just a strand.

"Can you put it back in?" she asked softly, holding it out to Arthur as if it was the most precious thing in the world. To her, it was. Arthur nodded as took it, wrapping it back in her hair.

"Will you be comfortable sleeping in this?" he asked as he tightened the bow and straightened it out. She nodded.

"I always have. I can't let it out of my hair or I'll lose it. When it falls out, Peter puts it back in. I can't do it myself." She looked at Arthur sadly. Arthur smiled and squeezed her shoulder.

"I see. Are you and Peter are close?"

"Very. He's like a brother to me."

As Arthur opened his mouth, Alfred came dashing into the room. "Hey, Artie! I can't find anything! Where are the chicken nuggets?" He didn't look over at the bed, but instead stared intently at Arthur. The Brit sighed.

"For God's sake, Alfred, they're right on the second shelf behind the milk. Did you move anything?" Alfred shook his head. "Well, that's why you couldn't find it."

Alfred pouted, then looked over at Lily who was staring wide eyed at him. "Oh, you're awake! Hey, how are you feeling? I'm Alfred and that's Arthur." He flashed her a winning smile and Arthur smacked him on the arm. "Oww!" He whined. This made Lily giggle softly as she covered her mouth with her thin and pale hand. The giggling died quickly and morphed into a yawn. Arthur smiled at her and then turned to glare at his husband.

"Out with you. And go start lunch. The poor lad's probably dying of hunger." Alfred rolled his eyes and smiled, mumbling a light "Yeah, Yeah." As he left, Arthur then turned back to Lily and held up the duvet for her to climb under once again. She did so and turned to her side, looking up at him.

"I'm going to go eat, alright, love?" he asked kindly, stroking her hair a bit before standing up. "When you wake up, I'll bring you something to nibble on. Sound good?" Lily nodded, but reached up and tugged on Arthur's shirt sleeve. He looked down at her and smiled when she yawned.

"C-Can you stay?" Her voice was even quieter and Arthur wouldn't have caught it had he not had an idea of what she was going to say. "J-Just until I fall asleep?"

"Of course, dear," Arthur smiled and sat back down on the edge of the bed. Leaning over, he dimmed the shades so the sun wouldn't bother her. He then started to hum, sweetly and softly. Her eyes closed, but her grip on his sleeve didn't loosen.

Alfred always told Arthur he had a beautiful voice. Arthur always told Alfred to shut the bloody hell up and that he wouldn't know talent if it hit him upside the head. Still, whether Arthur wanted to believe it or not, Alfred was right. Arthur did have a nice voice. Maybe it wouldn't land him any record deals, but it was perfect for a soft lullaby.

When Lily's breathing evened out, he was able to release his sleeve from her grasp and stand up. He smiled down at her sweet face, fast asleep in the bed before leaving the room and heading into the kitchen.

Alfred had managed to find the chicken and was just taking it out of the oven. He took a plate and popped the nuggets down on it. "Ow." "Ow." "Ow." He said the word with no pain in his voice as he picked up the hot food. It was a habit that irked Arthur to no end.

"Git, those don't hurt," Arthur glared as he walked in and sat down across from Peter. "You just say that to annoy the living hell out of me!"

Alfred smirked and brought the food over along with a bottle of water, a cup of tea, and a bottle of coke. "Watch your language, babe. We have children in the house." Arthur glared at him dangerously as he sat down. He hated when Alfred was right. Arthur swore like a sailor sometimes and he knew he would have to give that up while the kids were here. Because they would only be here for a little bit. Right. They could stay no longer than absolutely necessary.

Alfred frowned at the thought, but put on a smile as he sat down. He put some ketchup on the side of his plate for the chicken and started eating like he usually did. Usual for him was eating as fast as possible without bothering to take a bite. If he needed to speak, he would just talk with his mouth full of food. Arthur always got very angry when Alfred would do this especially when they were in public.

Peter looked at the food and then up at Arthur. "Is this for me?" Arthur looked down at him in surprise. Surely, he knew that the food set in front of him was meant to be eaten. Arthur almost thought he was kidding, but the boy's bright blue eyes told him that he was honestly confused.

"Of course it's for you, lad. Why wouldn't it be?" Peter looked back down at the food. His stomach growled loudly, but he still didn't move to eat.

"Because I didn't have to punch anyone in the face for it," the boy said as though it was strange he hadn't had to fight for his food. "Usually, I have to shove someone or hit them or kick them so I can get food for me and Lily."

"Lily and I," Arthur corrected with a small smile. He loved correcting people's grammar and usually did so with a rude comment following the correction. Because, honestly, if you've grown up speaking English your whole life, shouldn't you be able to speak properly? Now, though, it was almost cute coming from the mouth of a young and confused boy. "You don't have to fight anyone for food. If you get hungry, just ask either Alfred or myself for food and we'll be happy to give it to you."

Alfred (surprisingly) swallowed and nodded. "Yeah, dude. The fridge is always open! And if you're still hungry, we've got plenty of stuff to eat!" That was partially true, Arthur noted, having half a mind to correct the American but feeling it would be best not to. They had plenty of food now because Arthur had gone shopping the day before. The children were probably extremely hungry and he was sure the fridge would be cleaned out before the week was over. It was just another reason why they couldn't keep the children. With Alfred's eating habits plus two more mouths to feed, there simply wouldn't be enough money. The thought pained him more than he thought it would.

Peter looked once more between Alfred and Arthur before timidly picking up a chicken nugget. He glanced up once more before placing the food in his mouth and taking a bite. Chewing it quickly, he dropped the nugget back onto the plate, afraid someone was going to hurt him for eating. Alfred and Arthur looked at him sadly, disturbed that the boy felt he didn't have the right to eat. They didn't say anything else, probably because they didn't know what would be appropriate to say and they weren't sure if they would just make it worse.

It took a few minutes, but soon Peter was eating at a normal pace. He seemed to lose all fear of having the food taken from him. Alfred finished around the same time Peter started eating and stood to wash off the plates and clean up. Arthur could have been done as well, but he ate slowly so Peter wouldn't feel rushed. When the young boy was done, Arthur gladly took his plate along with his own and and brought it up to be washed. Peter sat there uncomfortably as he watched the two adults do the dishes. He felt he should help, but didn't ask if they needed him to. He didn't know, but the two wouldn't have let him. It just didn't seem appropriate to have a scared young boy do the dishes.

"How is Lily?" Peter asked when Alfred turned around. Alfred looked to Arthur who was drying the final dish.

"She's alright. Her fever's gone down and she's sleeping right now. She should be up in a few hours." Arthur set the dish down and turned to smile at Peter. The boy looked as though he didn't believe him, but nodded.

"Are you going to put me and Lily—Uh... Lily and I in school?" Peter asked as Alfred and Arthur sat down again.

The two didn't respond for a while, but it seemed the question was directed more-so at Arthur. He looked down and away, not meeting the gaze of the boy in front of him. "Well, lad. That's up to whoever takes you two in. But I would assume so unless they home school you." Alfred looked over at his husband sadly, but both looked away. The two adults refused to look anyone in the eyes, but Peter looked frantic as he glanced between the two.

"What do you mean? Aren't we staying here?" He was half shouting, but was able to keep his voice down in consideration of Lily.

"We would love for you two to stay with us." Arthur finally looked up at the boy with a sad expression. "But right now we simply don't have the money to take care of two children. There are other people out there, though, that would love to adopt you."

"But what if we don't stay together? What if they're mean? What if they hurt us; hurt Lily? You can't throw us out! We need a home! A-And Mr. Alfred said we can stay!"

Arthur turned to glare dangerously at Alfred who looked up when he heard his name. Alfred shook his head and turned to Peter. "Dude, I said we'd have to see. I didn't say yes."

"But that's like a 'yes!'"

"Peter, no it's not. Artie and I want you two to stay, but we don't have the money." Alfred looked at Arthur helplessly, but he had the same expression on his face. Peter jumped up, the wooden chair crashing to the wood floor behind him.

"Jerks! I hate you! You're just gonna throw us out again like we're trash! Oh, no one cares about orphans. Just let them _die_. That's what we've been told our whole lives and we made it this far! And now that we're safe, you're gonna throw us out! T-This is the closest thing to a family we've ever had!" Peter's voice started to break, but he turned around before the adults could see him cry. He ran to the guestroom and slammed the door, managing to find the lock and lock himself in while Arthur and Alfred looked on, their hearts breaking.

* * *

><p><em>Poor... Poor everyone ;3; Especially Peter. He thought he had found a home.<em>

_* Just a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down, the medicine go down, the medicine go doooown~~~_

_* The ribbon is important. Take a wild guess._

_* To the reviewer that asked, I love you, but I'm not going to say whether or not Peter and Arthur are brothers. Like I said, you just gotta trust me and keep reading :3_

_*Please keep reviewing ;3; Please? It makes my day. I love getting reviews, so please review? *begging* x3_


	4. Saying Goodbye

"Alfred, enough! We don't have the money and you know that! Now help me find the phone book."

"No!"

"Quit acting like a bloody child, Alfred. We can't afford to take in two children, but there are others who can! We have to think about what's best for them."

"We're best for them! Peter wants to stay with us and I bet Lily does too! If we send them away, they probably won't be able to stay with each other. They're not really related, so no one would care."

"We could fib for them."

"Yeah, but..."

"Alfred! Fine, forget it. I'll find it myself!"

Peter sat on the floor of the bedroom, his head pressed to the ugly wooden door. His knees were up to his chest and he clutched his legs tightly as though they were the only things holding him to this earth. He had since brushed all the tears away and refused to cry any more, but the dried tears that lingered made his face feel cracked.

Alfred and Arthur had been arguing for the past half hour. Peter could tell that Alfred wanted to help them badly, but Arthur wouldn't have it. That jerk. It's all his fault. That probably wasn't true, but who else was there to blame?

All Peter wanted was a safe place for himself and Lily. Alfred saved them and seemed so nice. It wasn't fair that they couldn't stay with him! And Arthur might not be so bad if they got a chance to know him.

But that wasn't going to happen. Arthur obviously didn't care about them. There was nothing they could do to make the adults let them stay. There were going to be separated and that was it. They'd never see each other again and Peter wouldn't be able to protect Lily from all the bad things. He was her big brother, but separated they were just two kids living in the same world.

"You obviously don't care about them!"

"Alfred stop it! Just stop it! Stop it right now! How dare you say I don't care! How dare you! Of course I care. I... I want to help them. I want to keep them and call them our children, but we can't. We just can't, Alfred. We don't have the money."

Peter perked up. This was not something he had expected to hear especially not from that jerk Arthur. He leaned closer to the door to catch every word even when the voices grew soft. It wasn't a hard thing to do. The apartment was small and the walls were as far from sound proof as possible.

On the other side of the door, Alfred blinked a few times and walked over to Arthur. The Brit looked up before looked away, his face red as tears formed in his eyes. Alfred noticed immediately and frowned.

"Artie, I'm sorry," he sighed. "I just... I really wanna help 'em! I mean, don't they deserve a home? We'd be great parents, I know it!" Arthur sighed and ran a shaky hand through his hair, trying to calm himself down. Alfred pulled him into a hug, breaking down his barrier as tears started to flow down the Brit's cheeks.

"I want to help them too, Al," Arthur murmured. "But we don't have the money. They deserve a home, but they deserve a good home. One that can provide for them. They deserve better than us."

Alfred looked at him helplessly. Arthur was right, there was no way the children could stay with them. They had to give them up and get back to the way things were before.

Alfred loved his life. He loved Arthur and the love they had between them. Sure, he didn't love his job or their living situation, but he was willing to try for Arthur. Still, things got boring when Arthur had to go to school and Alfred had to go to the worst job ever. This had been their little break, their moment of pure joy. Seeing the two children start to grow comfortable around people had been beautiful to watch and Alfred wished he could help them grow up even more. Arthur wanted the same thing, but it was simply impossible.

"You're right, Arthur," Alfred finally sighed, squeezing the smaller male closer to him. "It's just… I-I… I want to… To…"

"Shh," Arthur said softly, placing a finger to Alfred's lips. The American looked down at him, his eyes showing a mixture of confusion, hurt, and sadness. Arthur hated seeing Alfred like this. It happened so rarely, he couldn't remember the last time Alfred had been this upset. "I know. I want to keep the too, but this is the way things are. Think of it this way, love; we're helping them. They'll go to a home with parents who can help them and care for them. They'll have a chance of going to a good school, having nice things, and getting into a good college."

Alfred simply nodded. He wanted to mention the possibility that they would be separated, that they would go to a home with mean parents who would do nothing but abuse them, that they would be unloved and have no shot at a good life. Sure, Alfred and Arthur couldn't buy them nice things, but they could provide them with the love they deserve and the opportunity to stay together.

"We can call the foster home tomorrow," Alfred sighed, not meeting Arthur's gaze. The Brit frowned and nodded, pulling out of the hug and going to look for the phone book. Peter started to sob again.

* * *

><p>Two days later, the four stood in the lobby of Northside Home for Children. The woman seemed nice enough and the other kids seemed fine. Alfred and Arthur were left with a few more minutes to say goodbye to the children before they stepped off this path in their life. Peter was scowling and pouting, not looking either of them in the eye and arguing everything the two adults had been saying. Lily clutched Peter's hand, frightened at the largeness of the building and terrified to go into a new home. Seeing the children hurt, confused, and scared made Alfred and Arthur regret having to do this. Still, it had to be done.<p>

"I guess we better get going," Alfred said with a sigh, glancing at the clock nervously. Arthur looked at him and nodded. "Hey, we'll be seeing you guys around, right? I bet in ten years, you'll be working at my law firm, right buddy?" He looked at Peter with a smile, but the boy simply turned away without saying anything.

"Why can't we stay with you?" Lily asked, speaking for the first time that day. Alfred and Arthur looked at each other and frowned. Arthur knelt down to Lily's eye level.

"Because, dear, we don't have the money to take care of two children," the Brit explained. "I told you before that we would love to have you stay with us, but we simply can't afford it at the moment."

"B-but what if we're separated?"

"We told the nice lady that you two are siblings, so that will give you a greater chance of staying together." Lily's lip quivered and she threw her arms around Arthur, crying. Arthur blinked at the sudden sign of affection and sadness, but awkwardly wrapped his arms around the crying child. He rubbed her back gently as she cried into his shoulder, saying "I don't wanna go!"

Arthur had made it his responsibility to take care of Lily while she recovered. She got better rather quickly and latched onto him. Arthur tried not to grow attached to her, knowing he would just have to leave her, but he couldn't help but show compassion towards the girl. He had even grown closer to Peter. Alfred has as well. For a whole day, they got to pretend they were a family. They had all three meals together and played games in the living room. That night, they put on a movie and the children fell asleep watching it.

Lily soon calmed down and wiped her eyes, grabbing Peter's hand once again. Arthur stood up and Alfred took his hand. "See ya," Alfred said sadly.

"Goodbye. Be good, alright?" With that, the two turned away from the children and left. They didn't see nor hear, but once they were out of sight, Peter burst into tears, Lily following. They finally had a shot at getting a home, but somehow, they had blown it.

* * *

><p>*<em>This was origionally going to end with Alfred and Arthur keeping the children right then, but I figured they really wouldn't. They can't. Remeber, they're broke. And with me, never just assume the story is going to go one way ;3<em>

_* My lovely, wonderful, amazing, great, awesome RP partner is going to be helping me out with this as well ;3; Seriously, I love you_

_* Uh... Oh, and just as a side note, Lily isn't completely fully recovered from her cold. But she's recovered enough to be moved._

_* The next chapter might seem rushed, but there is a 1 week time skip at the start of the next chapter_

_Please review! PLEASE ;3; I love reviews. I'm such a review whore. Oh, and the poll is still going on. It will be for a while x3 Anyway, please review~_


	5. Reunited

_This chapter takes place a week after the previous one. This is why it might seem slightly rushed. Enjoy~_

* * *

><p>"I'm home…"<p>

"In the kitchen, love."

"Yeah..."

Alfred set his briefcase down and took off his bomber jacket slowly, his face drawn and tired. As he placed the jacket on the hanger, he stopped and looked down at where he was standing. It was here, just a week ago that he had brought home two scared children and opened his door to them. Then, he kicked them out heartlessly.

It had been a whole week and Alfred still had not been able to get over it. He wanted to see their smiling faces again and hear their laughter. He had no idea why it was affecting him so much. They were just two children; there were even more in the world. Many more orphans and children who needed a home. Why were these two so amazingly important?

Arthur had a bad week as well. After the children left, he didn't see the point in many things he took joy in before. Instead of reading a book when he came home from classes, he just sat on the couch and looked at the television. He didn't watch it. It wasn't worth it. He kept wishing he could go into the other room and wake up the two children, but there were no children to wake up. The thought saddened him and made him distant from Alfred.

Alfred walked into the kitchen were Arthur was looking through the bills. The Brit looked up and his lips curved upwards, but it could hardly be counted as a smile. "We have an extra five hundred this month. Thanks to you getting that case, of course."

"Yeah," Alfred said. "It's helped. Maybe they're starting to see me as important now." Arthur nodded and closed the check book. Alfred looked at the numbers and thought a moment. "Five hundred... That's enough for a bed, isn't it?"

"Alfred…" Arthur warned, looking at him with narrowed green eyes.

"And if I can keep getting cases like this then—"

"Alfred!"

"What?"

Alfred stared at his husband for a moment, then glanced back down to the numbers. "Oh," he whispered. "Sorry… I didn't mean… I just…"

"Miss them?" Arthur asked, his voice even quieter. Alfred looked up and nodded sadly. "I do too. I wish that we could have…"

"Me too," Alfred said. He set the paper down and picked up his briefcase. "But it doesn't matter now, does it? I think I'm going to go to bed early." He turned around to leave. He had been going to bed early for the past few days.

"Wait," Arthur shouted. He jumped up, the chair skidding across the floor, and grabbed Alfred's wrist. Alfred was surprised when he turned around to see tears streaking down Arthur's cheeks. Alfred dropped the briefcase and pulled Arthur into a hug in one swift motion.

"I can't… I keep worrying. I want…" Arthur sobbed into Alfred's chest, gripping the other's shirt tightly. Alfred rubbed small circles on Arthur's back, kissing his head repeatedly. Finally, Arthur looked up at Alfred with glassy, but determined tear filled eyes. "Go buy a goddamn bed."

* * *

><p>Peter and Lily sat in the large central bedroom. Lily was on one of the beds, her knees up to her chest. She coughed softly, still not completely over the cold from a week before. Peter, on the opposite bed, looked over worriedly. The owners of this home hadn't paid much mind to the newest occupants. The children spent much of the day in their room. Peter wanted to ask for a doctor just to be sure Lily would end up alright, but every time he tried to get someone's attention, he was brushed off.<p>

"Are you alright, Lily?" Peter asked. Lily looked up and nodded. Her eyes seemed sad and tired. Even when she was well rested, she seemed upset and tired. Peter couldn't be sure if it was the cold or missing Arthur and Alfred.

They still hadn't quite been able to get over the fact that they had been kicked out. It was hard to tell who was taking it the worst as they were both handling it in their own ways. Lily seemed quieter about it. She would sleep in late and sometimes Peter would catch silent tears streaming down her face. Peter, on the other hand, was a little more vocal about it. He would rant on and on about how unfair it was that they were in this situation and complain about how mean Arthur and Alfred were and how they were jerks. Lily would listen silently, but she wished Peter would just stop talking about it.

"Peter? Lily?" a small, plump woman tapped on the door and entered. She wore a purple dress that was draped on her like a curtain. Her white hair was threaded with bits of brown and her glasses hung off the edge of their nose, a beaded string going behind her neck.

The two children looked up and over at her with curious expressions. She smiled a practiced smile and came in a little more. "Hey, there's someone who wants to see you. They're looking to possibly adopt!" At this the two brightened and exchanged glances. She left the room and the two broke into smiles.

"Peter, do you think…?" Lili started, her eyes wide. Peter smiled back.

"Maybe! C'mon!" He jumped up and grabbed her hand, pulling her up off of the bed. She got up with a bounce and rushed after him as he led her into the hall and down the stairs. They crashed into the office, but stopped short as their faces crumpled with disappointment.

Instead of seeing the happy-go-lucky American and the stuffy, but kind, Brit they found themselves face to face with a smiling young woman. She had brown hair that curled down her back and bright green eyes that seemed to light up the room. She seemed nice, but she wasn't what they wanted.

The plump woman, the owner of the home, came into the room and looked between the children and the woman. "Peter, Lily, this is Ms. Elizaveta. She has an adopted son and is looking for more children to fill her house." Elizaveta smiled at the two and then frowned, turning to the woman.

"Actually, we were just looking for a little girl to adopt. Roddy doesn't want another boy." She frowned and turned to the children, looking mostly at Lily. "But aren't you a cutie? Would you like to come live with me?"

Lily looked at her wide eyed and turned to Peter. "N-No. Not unless Peter is with me." She scooted closer to Peter who took her hand protectively.

"She's my sister," Peter glared. "She's not leaving with anyone unless I'm with her."

"Well, I'm sorry, Peter," the owner said, losing her smile and glaring at the boy. "But the papers have been signed and Lily is going to live with Ms. Elizaveta. We don't have the money to keep you here for long periods of time. When we get the opportunity to adopt out a child, we take it."

"But we're siblings! You can't separate us!" The older woman rolled her eyes.

"You two look totally different," she said. "It doesn't take an idiot to realize you two are just pretending to be siblings. Besides, it wouldn't matter. We would separate you anyway."

Peter's face went red with rage. "How could you? You jerks! You promised we would stay together! Your promised Alfred and Arthur! I hate you! I hate you! Jerks!"

"Peter! Enough!" the owner shouted. "Go back to your room. Lily leaves tomorrow. And that is the end of it." With that, the woman turned and left, her purple dress swishing behind her as she stomped off to her private office. It was implied that Elizaveta was supposed to follow, but she didn't. She turned her gaze back to the children.

"You two really want to stay together, don't you?" she asked. They nodded at her, Peter still glaring and Lily looking frightened. Elizaveta smiled softly. "I'm afraid my husband has his foot down about this. He told me, only one child. But I can't separate you two. I'll try to get out of this and maybe find you someone who can take in both of you and get you out of here." She smiled and ruffled their hair before following the woman.

The two stood there for a moment, listening. First the talking was calm and quiet, but it soon grew in volume.

"I don't want to separate them!" They heard Elizaveta shouting. "So, I refuse to adopt Lily! Please, just forget about the papers!"

"No! You signed the papers and now Lily is your daughter!"

Peter didn't want to hear any more. Lily went pale at that last sentence and looked up at Peter with huge and scared eyes. He grabbed her hand and ran upstairs. He sat her on the bed and looked at her intently before pulling her into a huge hug.

"P-Peter!" she sobbed. "I can't go! I don't wanna! We're siblings so we can't leave each other! Do something!"

"Shh, Lily, it's alright," Peter said softly. He was angry and upset, but right now he had to focus on comforting Lily. He held her close as he thought. He knew what he had to do. It was the only way they could keep each other safe; the only thing they knew.

"We'll leave tonight, alright? I'm not gonna let them take you away." Lily looked at him with teary eyes and nodded, wiping at them. "I promise you, we'll never be apart, okay?" Lily nodded again and hugged him tightly, coughing a little.

"You're still sick, aren't you?" Peter gently laid her down on the old, creaky bed and covered her with the itchy brown blanket, making sure the holes were down near her feet instead of up by her stomach or chest. "I'll wake you up when we leave, alright?" Lily nodded and closed her eyes, instantly falling asleep. Peter sat on the other bed and waited, hoping the time would pass quickly.

* * *

><p>The moon shone through the single window in the old room. About fifteen kids were asleep in the old beds except for one blue eyed blonde. He counted exactly sixty minutes after he heard the owner go to her room and shut off her light. Then, he sat up and gingerly got up, being careful to not let the bed creak too much. He walked the short distance to Lily's bed and gently shook the small girl.<p>

"Lily," he whispered. "Come on, it's time to get up." Lily groaned softly and opened her eyes. She looked up at Peter before sitting and rubbing her eyes, then took his hand and got out of the bed. Peter brought her to the door of the room and stood by the door, listening. Hearing nothing, they slipped out the door and into the hallway.

The hall was pitch black as there were no windows. Not even the moon could help them as they walked down the still unfamiliar hallway. Peter held Lily's hand as he felt along the walls, careful not to press down on any doors for fear they would emit an unwanted noise.

The stairs were the worst part for the two children. Being an old building, the steps were all different sizes and widths. It was tough enough to maneuver up and down them in the day time. It was a nightmare at night. Peter went first, keeping Lily close to him. A few times, they almost fell and Peter had to clamp his hand over Lily's mouth for fear she would shout out. Finally, they reached the bottom and hurried to the front door. The door had no alarm, so they simply opened it and slipped outside, the darkness of the night consuming them as they raced down the streets.

* * *

><p>"Oh. It's you two again." The old woman looked between the two young blondes with slight contempt. Alfred and Arthur exchanged glances and nodded. "Well, what do you want? I'm very busy, you know."<p>

The three were seated in the main office, the woman glancing at her computer every few moments. She didn't look happy to see them and both were worried that she had been mean to the kids. Upon seeing her hateful gaze, they both felt guilt for placing the children in the home. All they could do now, though, was pray everything was alright.

"We were actually hoping to see the children. Lily and Peter?" Alfred paused and looked at her for a hint of recognition at the names. Instead, she simply stared at him, so he couldn't be sure if she even knew who he was talking about. "Uh, we want to adopt them."

"Well, why didn't you just keep them if you wanted the children so badly?" the woman snapped. Arthur and Alfred looked at each other again nervously. They did not like this woman one bit and were certain the children didn't like her either.

"We didn't have the money at the time," Arthur answered. "But... uh, our family sent us some money so we could care for the children. Where are they?"

"Ha! You should know where they are. You do, don't you?" At this, the couples' eyes widened.

"What do you mean?" Alfred asked, panicking slightly. "We wouldn't know where they are! You should know where they are! This is your foster home and they are in your care... Right?" The woman simply looked at them with a harsh gaze.

"Right...?" Arthur asked, standing up. "Dammit, woman, where are they?"

"Hmm, I guess you really don't know where they are." The woman looked at them for a moment before going back to her computer. "They ran away. I can't seem to find them anywhere."

"They ran away?" Arthur shouted. "Then why aren't you looking for them? Why have the police not been notified? What is your _problem_?"

"Look," the woman snapped, taking her glasses off and narrowing her eyes. "If they ran away, then they obviously don't want to be here. I can't be held responsible for children who have no sense. They're gone, end of story."

Alfred and Arthur both opened their mouths to shout at the horrible woman when there was a tap at the door. "Am I interrupting? I'm sorry." A woman with green eyes and long brunette hair entered the room and looked at the two men before focusing on the woman. "I heard that Lily ran away. Is she alright? Have you found her?"

"I thought you said you weren't going to adopt her after all," the other scoffed. "No, we haven't found her nor the other brat. If you three want to start a search party, then be my guest, but I am far too busy to help. And if you do find them, don't bring 'em back here."

The three glared at her before leaving, Alfred slamming the door behind them. The minute they were out of the office, Arthur ran a shaky hand through his hair. "My God... What are we going to do?" He then looked at the woman. "And who are you?"

"I'm Elizaveta," the woman replied with a small smile. "I had come here to adopt a little girl and got roped into adopting Lily. I didn't realize that she had a brother, but that woman would not let me drop the adoption. Now they must have run away because they didn't want to be separated. Please, you have to find them."

"We will, right Arthur?" Alfred looked to his husband who nodded. Elizaveta sighed with relief.

"Oh, thank you. I have to hurry home now. But if you find them, please, please take them in. And if I see them, I'll be sure to find you." The two blondes nodded and she smiled before leaving the building and going down the street.

"Hello? Hi, it's mommy!" Elizaveta said into her phone as she walked. She rolled her eyes at the response. "Alright, it's Lizzy. Yes, I know you're seventeen. Tell Roddy that we're not going to adopt another child right now. That should make him happy. Yes, I'll be home soon. Can you put the roast in the oven? Thank you! Love you. Bye, Vash."

* * *

><p>Darkness had fallen over the town aside from the street lamps that had turned on. No light reached the recesses of the small alley the two children had found as they huddled against each other for warmth. Lily was coughing a little in her sleep, her entire body hot. Peter was holding her close to him and looking around in case anyone came.<p>

He was about to drift off to sleep when he heard someone calling his name. They were too far away, so he couldn't recognize the voice. Instead, he assumed it was someone from the home and jumped up, shaking Lily.

"Lily! Wake up! They're coming for us!" Lily's eyes carefully opened and she looked up at Peter. She opened her mouth, but Peter yanked her up before she could say anything. "Come on, we have to run. Go ahead of me." Lily simply nodded and started to run, though her lungs burned painfully. Peter ran close behind her, but kept her in front in case she were to fall behind.

Arthur and Alfred heard the shouts and ran in that direction. They could just barely make out the outlines of two small children running down the sidewalks through the wavering light of the street lamps. They weren't exactly sure what street they were on when they started running, but once they took a turn, Arthur knew immediately.

"Alfred, we have to catch them now. We're nearing the river. It's forty degrees outside and if one of them falls in, they're screwed. It doesn't have a fence around it at these parts." Alfred nodded and ran faster, Arthur trying his hardest to match the pace.

They were running through a back part of the city, the 'slums,' if you will. The river snaked through the Cortland City at odd places, making it very pretty, but also rather confusing if you were new to town. The children had lived in Cortland City for a while, but even in the darkness, they couldn't make out what was in front of them, neither had any idea that they were approaching the Cortland River.

Lily's left foot tapped the steep bank and she started to fall forward with a yelp. Peter instantly knew what was happening and ran forward to grab her arm. He pulled her back from falling, but in pushing her back, ended up falling forward. Lily shouted his name as he tumbled down the bank, hitting his head and blacking out as he crashed into the river.

The two blondes heard the shouts and the splash. Fearing the worst, they quickly caught up to the end of the street. Arthur scooped up Lily and she shouted.

"Shh, shh, it's us." Lily looked up through the darkness and instantly recognized him.

"P-Peter fell into the water!" she shouted, starting to cry. Alfred had already taken off his bomber jacket and tossed it to Arthur. Then his shoes came off until he was down in only his pants and undershirt. He handed his glasses to Arthur before diving in.

Alfred couldn't see anything as he swam through the river. He could only hope the boy had gone straight down. He touched the bottom quickly and began feeling around. His hand brushed against the ratty fabric of a shirt and he pulled it closer. As he brought the fabric closer, he saw that it was attached to something much larger. Feeling the arms and legs of a small boy, he pressed the body close to his chest and placed his feet on the sandy bottom of the river. He pushed and shot up through the water, quickly breaking through the surface.

He gasped for breath and yanked Peter's head above the surface as well. Arthur set Lily down and knelt at the edge of the bank, ready to help as Alfred made his way over. Alfred handed him the soaking wet boy and pulled himself out of the water. "Is he breathing?" Alfred panted out, completely out of breath.

Arthur paused for a moment and then nodded. "Yes, he's breathing, but I feel blood. He must have a nasty cut on his head. He's also shaking something fierce." Alfred nodded and grabbed his bomber jacket, wrapping it around Peter and picking him out of Arthur's arms. Lily looked up at the two men.

"I-I-Is he gonna b-be alright?" she asked, tears still streaming down her face as she shook with fear and cold. Arthur tried to get as much wet off of himself as he could before picking the girl up and holding her close. He wasn't exactly sure, but every now and then, you have to lie to protect.

"I'm sure he'll be fine, love," he said softly, stroking her hair. "Let's go home, alright? You feel hot. You're still sick, aren't you?" Lily nodded. "I figured they weren't giving you proper care in that home. It doesn't matter now. Are you ready, Alfred?"

Alfred nodded and pressed Peter close to him as they ran down the streets. He just hoped they would both be alright soon. He was a father now and had a duty to protect his children. He didn't want to see them hurt or injured or in pain. He was going to be a hero for his new family.

* * *

><p><em>SORRY PETER ;A;<em>

_Yes, Vash is in this story. Yes, he and Lily are blood related. Yes, Lily was really _that_ close to seeing him. No, you are not getting any more back story for a little bit :3_

_Please review~! They make me so happy and encourage me to keep writing!_


	6. Coming Togther

"Lily's asleep now. Her fever's going down, thankfully. She should be down to a small cold by morning if we're lucky."

"And Peter...?"

Arthur looked up at him from across the table and paused. "He's doing much better. He has one hell of a cut on his head, but the water helped the bleeding stop somewhat. He has a high temperature, though. I've been trying to bring it down, but it simply won't budge. It's not going up, so that's a good thing."

"Will he be alright?"

"Well, we'll see. For now, let's just go to sleep. Do you have work tomorrow?"

"I can take another day and work from home. With the case, I only need to go in a few times until the actual court day. How about you? Do you have classes?"Arthur sighed and shook his head.

"I've only been taking these classes for a year now, Alfred. You'd think that you could at least memorize the days I do and don't have classes. But, yes, I have a two hour class at nine tomorrow." Alfred nodded and then smiled at him. Arthur looked his husband in the eyes and couldn't help but smile back. He stood and placed a kiss on Alfred's forehead before taking his hand and leading him to the bedroom for a good night's rest.

* * *

><p>The morning sun poked through the drawn curtains and filtered through the room. Feeling the burning sun on her eyes, the young girl gently opened them and looked around. Her mouth opened in a yawn, but ended in a soft cough, though she could tell she wasn't as hot as before.<p>

The door was mostly closed except for a small crack. From her position on the bed, she could see a little down the hall and the beginning of a kitchen. For a moment, she wondered where she was, but soon remembered the events of the previous night. Alfred and Arthur had come and found them. Alfred saved Peter and Arthur tucked her into bed when they had gotten back to the apartment. She watched as he tended to Peter and when he was done, he held her hand until she finally fell asleep.

She glanced over to the other bed where Peter still lay asleep. Tears pricked at her eyes. If she had been watching where she was going, Peter wouldn't be hurt. This was surely all her fault. She wiped away the tears and carefully pulled back the blankets. Gripping the bed, she stepped out and continued on when she found she wasn't dizzy.

She pulled the door open and looked around. Now closer to the kitchen, she saw Arthur and Alfred standing at the counter. Arthur held a tea cup and Alfred was sipping his coffee from a mug. They were both looking down at papers and talking quietly every now and then.

Lily would have stood there for a while had Alfred not glanced up for a moment and saw her peering out of the room. He shot her a huge smile and closed his binder. "Hey, kiddo. Good morning. You feeling better?" As Arthur looked up, Lily hid behind the door. Alfred chuckled softly.

"Lily?" Arthur called. "Come here, love. I want to check your temperature." Lily looked back at the two. They both smiled kindly at her and she blushed before stepping out of the room and walking over to them. Alfred lifted her up gently and set her on the counter. She squeaked at the sudden movement, but smiled when she saw she was high off the ground. Arthur placed a thermometer in her mouth and waited until it beeped.

"Ah, much better," he smiled, "It's down to ninety-eight point three. It's hardly a cold now." He looked back at Lily and placed a hand on her forehead. "How are you feeling, dear? I would assume a little better seeing as your temp has gone down."

"I-I feel better," she said quietly. "Uhm... I'm hungry..." She felt bad that she was hungry, as though it would be rude to ask for food. Of course, she hadn't eaten well since a week before as the children at the home didn't get fed much.

"Of course you are," Arthur said with a smile and helped her off the counter. He brought her to sit at the kitchen table and Alfred pulled out a box of cereal and fixed her a bowl.

Lily looked at the food as it was placed in front of her. "Peter's still asleep," she said, looking between Arthur and Alfred. "I-Is he alright?" The two adults exchanged glances and Arthur sat down in the chair next to Lily's.

"I believe he will be alright, but only time will tell. He's got a nasty cut, but it's healing quickly. We just need his temperature to go down and then we'll be in the clear." He gave the girl a soft smile and squeezed her hand. She pulled it away and shook her head, starting to cry.

"It's my fault! It's all my fault! If I hadn't been running so fast... I-If I hadn't almost fallen, he wouldn't have fallen and we'd all be alright and he wouldn't be hurt and... And..."

Alfred quickly came over and knelt down, pulling her into a hug. "It's not your fault, kiddo. Artie and I hardly saw the river. It was dark, you two were scared, and Peter was just trying to protect you. He'll be fine, I promise. I know he's a strong boy. He wouldn't let something like this knock him down for long."

Lily nodded as she clutched onto Alfred's shirt. Arthur got up and plucked some tissues from a box as Lily finished crying. He gently wiped her face and kissed her cheek. Alfred rubbed her back as she hiccuped and the last of her tears dried.

"I-I'm sorry," she choked out.

"Don't be. It's alright, though," Alfred smiled and helped her sit up again so she could eat her cereal. "Peter'll be alright soon."

"And I'm afraid I must be off to class, loves," Arthur smiled. "I'll be back in a few hours. Alfred, keep and eye on the kids and Lily, if you're still tired take a nap, okay?" The two nodded and Arthur smiled before grabbing his notes and book bag and leaving the apartment.

"How about you eat some breakfast and then we can figure out something to do," Alfred suggested. "We don't have much to do around here, but that'll soon change!"

"It'll change?" Lily asked.

Alfred looked confused for a moment, then hit his head with his palm. "We didn't tell you guys yet! Yeah, it'll change 'cause you two are going to be living here." Lily's eyes widened.

"Y-You mean... You mean...?"

"Yup! I'm your dad now!" Lily's face brightened and she flung her arms around Alfred. The American blinked, but smiled softly down at her.

"T-Thank you so much!" Alfred's smile widened and he hugged her back tightly.

"You're welcome. You guys were just too awesome, we couldn't go a week without you! And now you're gonna have a home." He paused and thought a moment. "We've got television and Artie's got some books. So, we have a few things you guys can do."

Lily nodded and pulled out of the hug. She then started to eat, her hunger starting to take over. Alfred smiled and watched her as he cleaned up from his and Arthur's breakfast. He washed and dried the dishes before placing them on the drying rack. It wasn't long before he realized he had a little helper with him. Lily was standing on her tip toes, trying to wash her bowl. Alfred watched with a smile as she rinsed it out and placed it on the drying rack next to the bowl Alfred had just set down. She then looked up at Alfred and realized he had been watching her. She blushed, but he smiled.

"You didn't have to do that, you know," Alfred said. "I woulda cleaned that up for you. Artie said you need your rest."

"Yeah, but I wanted to help. I don't like feeling useless." At this Alfred chuckled and ruffled her hair.

"You're not useless, kiddo, but if it makes you feel any better, Artie and I will make you guys a chore list when you both are settled better. For now, though, you need to rest a bit. Artie's got some books if you wanna read and the TV's got a few cable stations. But if you're tired, you should sleep." Lily nodded and wandered into the living room. She went to the bookshelf and looked through it.

The bookshelf was one of Arthur's most prized possessions. Even though they didn't have a whole lot of money, Arthur refused to sell his books or the shelf. He loved to read and many of those books were collectors editions. Arthur could sit for hours reading a Shakespeare play and Alfred loved watching him read. He always looked so happy, as though he could escape to other worlds when he read.

Lily picked up a thin volume, a child's book from when Arthur was younger. She sat down on the couch and began to read. Alfred came into the living room as well and sat in a chair. He asked if she minded if he turned on the television and she shook her head 'no.' Alfred watched the ending of a baseball game as Lily read the book, the two sitting in a peaceful stillness.

* * *

><p>The first thing the young boy noticed was that his head was throbbing something terrible. He didn't dare open his eyes as he was already dizzy and he knew opening them would just make it worse. The pain was horrible, but he could tell there had been an attempt at dulling it.<p>

The second thing he noticed was that he was alive. Memories rushed back much too fast making him wince once again. He remembered running from someone and pushing Lily back from falling in the river. Unfortunately, he had ended up hitting his head on the rocky bank below. The last thing he remembered was the ice cold feeling of water surrounding his small body.

The third thing he noticed was that he was both hot and cold at the same time. It was a horrible feeling, one he wished he could just run away from. He tried to press himself into the blankets, but it did not seem to help. He felt tired, hot, and cold and wished it would all just go away.

The creaking of what sounded like a door startled him and made him jump a little. The person didn't seem to notice as they continued their pace towards what Peter assumed was a bed he was laying on. The person laid a land on his forehead and made a 'tsking' sound. He then felt something cold press against it and felt slight relief from the hot side of his body.

"Come on, lad. Wake up, please," a familiar accented voice pleaded calmly. Peter froze. He knew that voice, but there was no way...! They had thrown him and Lily out! There was no way Arthur was with him now.

Carefully, Peter opened his eyes. The world was terribly blurry and his headache increased as his eyes desperately tried to focus on something. "There you go, come on," the voice said softly. Peter decided to look up and found himself looking into familiar, soft green eyes. His own were half-lidded and he wanted to close them so much, but refused to do so.

"You're finally awake," Arthur breathed. "Thank God! You've been out for nearly a day and that nasty cut on your head didn't help." Peter started to shift, but Arthur firmly touched his shoulders. "Now, don't move too much. I'm almost certain you have a concussion."

Peter simply nodded and laid where he was as Arthur fussed about him. He watched the Brit, careful to not dizzy himself. "W-Where am I-I?" he finally asked when his voice had somewhat returned to him. Arthur looked down for a moment and smiled.

"You don't recognize the room? You're at home, Peter. Alfred jumped into the river after you and we brought you and Lily back," Arthur said kindly, placing another bandage over the cut. "Alfred is in the living room with Lily who was asleep when I came home. And before you ask, yes she is fine. Her temperature is way down today. Now we just have to get you better." He stopped talking as he placed the final bandage over Peter's head, making the boy wince slightly. "There we go. Now, are you hungry?"

Peter made a motion similar to shaking his head, but didn't dare to actually move. "No, I'm tired," the boy snapped. Arthur nodded and tucked him in a little more.

"Alright, then. I'm going to wake you up in a few hours for supper, though. Sleep well." Arthur started to gather his medical items.

"Whatever," Peter rolled his eyes and felt relief when he closed them. He didn't see Arthur smirk at him, but he heard his footsteps start to grow softer. "Wait," he called hoping Arthur was still in the room. The footsteps stopped. "A-Are we gonna stay here with you?" Peter asked without opening his eyes.

There was a long moment of silence and Peter was wondering if Arthur had already gone and not head him. Then, the Brit spoke up. "Yes... You and Lily will both be staying here... For a long while." Peter noticed the smile in the voice and smiled as well before sleep took over him once again.

* * *

><p>Arthur smiled softly and closed the bedroom door before going out to the living room where Alfred was on the chair and Lily was stretched out on the couch, a blanket around her. He had found Alfred watching a baseball game and Lily sitting on the couch asleep with a book on her lap. He scolded Alfred for not laying her down and placed her in a more comfortable position.<p>

Alfred looked up as Arthur came and sat down on the arm of the chair. He leaned forward and Arthur leaned down so the two could share a quick, but loving kiss. "How is he?" Alfred asked as they pulled away.

"He woke up, thankfully," Arthur said with relief. "He definitely has a concussion, though, and is very tired. I'm just hoping he'll be hungry when I wake him up for supper." Alfred smiled and nodded, scooting over in the small chair so Arthur could squeeze next to him. The Brit laid his head down on his husband's shoulder, looking at Lily who was curled under the blanket.

"We have a family now, don't we?" Alfred asked after a few moments. Arthur gazed up at him and nodded.

"Yes... We do now, don't we?" He sighed. "When I pictured my future life after we got married, I never imagined it would turn out this way."

"Oh really?" Alfred asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Yes, I always thought we would get ourselves out of debt and move someplace nice. I always wanted children, but assumed we would never have any. I was content with that though."

"Any particular reason why?" Alfred smirked when Arthur didn't continue the previous sentence.

Arthur looked up at him with a light glare. He then looked away and stared at the floor. "Because I had you. I was happy enough." Alfred made an 'aw' sound and got a smack on the arm in response.

"But now we have two kids, right?" Alfred asked with a smile. "How do you feel about _that_?"

Arthur looked up at him and smiled, nuzzling into Alfred's neck. "I feel pretty bloody happy. I have no idea how we're going to take care of them and keep a steady life."

"We'll figure something out! Don't worry, Artie! Remember, I'm the—"

"You're the hero. Yes, I know," Arthur smirked up at him. "And I'll never forget that."

* * *

><p><em>Yes, people always get hurt in my stories xD<em>

_I don't have much to say xD This was kind of a filler chapter in a way. Family FLUUUFFFF (I love family fluff~)_

_Thank you for the thoughtful reviews! Please, keep them coming! They make me so super happy :D_

_Also, check out my (many) other stories including a new France/Jeanne fic and a Footloose-based USUK AU~_

_And I got a tumblr~ The link is on my profile~_

_And that's all! Please review!_


	7. Kitty Litter

When Lily woke up, Arthur pushed aside any work he might have had and read her a book. She rested her head against his shoulder and listened, enjoying the comfort the stillness brought her. Alfred started supper, fish and 'chips' as requested by Arthur. Arthur was not a good cook and, honestly, Alfred was not anything special. Still, it was decided that to avoid the apartment burning down, Alfred would handle the cooking.

Arthur woke Peter up, but didn't want to move him from the bedroom because of his concussion. So, he brought Peter his own plate and let him eat it in bed. The boy ate as much as he could which was slightly more than half of his meal. Arthur felt that was good especially for a sick boy with a concussion and allowed him to have some ice cream as a treat. Peter stayed awake until about eight when his body finally decided it was time to go back to sleep.

At seven, Lily was allowed to see Peter and the two sat and talked until the boy fell asleep. Peter sent Lily to bed at nine and he and Alfred stayed up to do some figuring. It was going to take a lot of money to care for the kids, but Alfred promised that they could do it. Seeing the look in his husband's eyes, Arthur knew that it was possible. He had never had a reason to doubt Alfred before.

A week later, Peter was up and moving about. He still had a concussion and was prone to bad headaches every now and then, but it was getting better and that was the important thing. The time he wasn't in bed, he was sitting on the couch. Arthur refused to allow him to go out and play, so Lily stayed inside with Peter except to go shopping with Arthur or Alfred to get some fresh air. However, the apartment building did have a small yard in the back that was hardly ever used, so when Peter was all better, Alfred promised to buy them a soccer ball (or football as Arthur insisted on calling it) to use outside.

Alfred was down at the office on this Saturday afternoon. His case was starting to come to a close and all that was left was the court case. He sometimes practiced in front of Arthur what he was going to say and Arthur told him even he would be able to make a case for something like this. Still, it was bringing in the extra money they needed and Alfred would get a small bonus if he won the trial. Plus, winning the trial would earn him more 'brownie points' with the bosses, though that had never helped before. Still, Alfred had never lost the trials he was given. Surely they would realize his amazing skills as a lawyer.

Arthur sat on the couch, reading a small novel while the two children watched the television. During the week, Peter would slouch or rest his head on the few pillows they had, but now he was sitting straight up. Arthur would steal glances at the two both to make sure neither had nodded off and out of pure shock. It had been a week since Alfred and Arthur had adopted the two children. Sometimes Arthur would forget and the shock would be both surprising and amazing. He loved having the children. He loved waking them up and getting them ready. He loved sitting and talking with them and even just sitting in silence, knowing they were there.

He glanced up at the time. It was a little after one in the afternoon. The children had eaten a small lunch at noon which would hold them off until supper. Speaking of which, Arthur realized he had to do the shopping that day. However, Alfred wasn't there to watch Peter as he had been a few days before. Arthur sighed and looked over at the children.

"I need to go grocery shopping, loves, and I can't leave you two alone." They looked over at him, Lily looking curious and Peter glaring.

"You don't trust us?" he accused. Arthur gave him a look and shook his head.

"Of course I trust you two, but Peter you have a concussion that you have yet to recover from." He paused for a moment. "But, you haven't really been outside much except for sitting on the front steps of the building for some fresh air. If I manage to hurry up, I'll take you with me. Sound good?" Lily smiled and nodded. She decided she liked going shopping with Arthur. Peter looked at him for a moment before smiling and nodding. He was secretly dying to get outside and have some fun.

Arthur placed a bookmark in the book he was reading and set it down on the coffee table. "Alright, then you two. Go get your coats on and we can get going." A few days before, they had been able to buy a few more outfits for the two children including winter coats. They couldn't get them anything fancy or especially nice, but it was something for them to wear and keep them warm during the winter months.

It was the beginning of December and the two adults felt it was best that they didn't start school so close to when they would have winter break. After the vacation, they would enroll the two children in school. That would also give Peter time for his head to fully heal. For now, though, they would just work on getting the two settled and happy in their new life.

Arthur went to the kitchen to get the check book and see how much money they would have. Lily and Peter got their coats on and Arthur came back to get his. Taking their hands, he led them out the door and onto the chilly streets. Not having a car was a slight disadvantage. It would have been nice to get in a comfortably heated car and not have to carry all the bags home, but they simply didn't have the money.

They reached the small supermarket and Arthur pulled out a cart just inside the front doors. "Now, don't go running off," he said firmly, skillfully pushing the cart with one hand and holding Lily's hand with the other. "If you're good, I'll let you pick out a small treat, alright?" They had an extra few dollars this week for their groceries. Why not let the children have a small treat? Alfred and Arthur didn't have a lot, so the children weren't going to be privileged or spoiled in any way, but they wanted to make the kids feel at home and loved.

Peter nodded and held onto the side of the cart with his right hand as he looked around the large store. He hadn't been inside a large store such as this before and he had never even dreamed of seeing so much food in one place. It was really amazing to him. Lily felt the same as she looked with wonder at the towering shelves filled with food, candy, and sometimes even small toys.

Arthur looked down at the children kindly, smiling to himself at how amazed they seemed. Their eyes darted around with wonder at the store and if made Arthur happy to see them in awe. He went through the aisles, picking up the food he needed. He never bought the good brands, only the cheap ones and the store brands.

Finally, the cart was filled with food and Arthur started wheeling it over to the register. He was thankful that the kids had been good. Lily wouldn't have run off anyway and Peter was too amazed to wander around by himself. Of course, being himself, Arthur was also worried that Peter was tired from his concussion, so he wanted to get him home quickly.

After paying for the items, Arthur picked the bags out of the cart. He handed a few bags to Lily and a few to Peter, carrying most of them himself. He told the two to stay close and don't wander off because the city could be dangerous, even during the day. Though, he probably didn't need to tell them that; they more than likely already knew.

They were almost home when a hand reached out and grabbed Arthur's shirt, pulling him back against a wall. Lily screamed and Peter looked around in confusion. Arthur was pinned to the wall by a dirty looking man with a knife. Arthur dropped the bags, making the glass tomato sauce can smash all over the cement ground. He glared up into the man's stone cold eyes and struggled, but the man held him firm, poising his knife at Arthur's throat.

"Mr. Arthur!" Lily screamed and started to run to him, but Peter held her back. The man looked down at the children and grinned evilly, making Lily cry. Peter was afraid, but refused to show anyone that he was.

"Leave Arthur alone!" Peter shouted with a big voice. The man didn't speak. Instead, he turned to the kids and held the knife out to them. Lily yelped and hid behind Peter, but the boy didn't move.

"Peter! Get Lily and run," Arthur shouted at him, noticing the boy not moving. "Get help, but go!" Peter looked up at Arthur with fearful blue eyes, meeting Arthur's firm emerald ones. He pushed Lily away from him, making the girl look at him with confusion.

"Go get Alfred," Peter instructed her and pushed her off towards home. He, however, stayed put and glared up a the man. "Let jerk-Arthur go you big jerk!" he shouted and ran forward, kicking the man in the shin. The man grunted and Arthur's eyes widened.

"Peter, get Lily and go!" the Brit shouted. "Don't start taking after Alfred's hero complex! Go!" Peter looked up at the green eyed man with confusion before shaking his head. He snapped back to see the man grab at him, but he was able to jump back in time.

"You run, jerk!" Peter shouted. Arthur glared at Peter but moved from his place on the wall. He jumped away from the man and watched as the criminal chased Peter a few yards down the sidewalk. He started to run after them, but skidded to a stop when the man toppled over and fell on his face. Peter seemed surprised as well and turned around. The man cried something out about his leg and couldn't stand up. Both blondes stood frozen, watching the man when suddenly a small ball of fur wriggled out from under him.

"A cat!" Peter exclaimed with a smile. The feline shook its fur and blinked, looking up at Peter. He was a large cat, up to Peter's knees. He had snow white fur with a brown mane around his neck. His tail wagged like a dog's as he bounded over to Peter and nuzzled against his knee. The boy reached down to pet him. "Thanks! You totally saved us!"

Arthur cautiously walked around the fallen man and made his way to Peter. He took the boy's hand and rushed him down the street and around the corner. Peter protested, but let the older male pull him when he saw the cat following. Lily was waiting around the corner with tears staining her face. Arthur smiled at her and wordlessly pulled her into a hug while the scared girl cried.

"Look, Lily! A cat! He saved us!" Peter smiled and showed her the white and brown cat. Arthur looked at the animal warily.

"A car? Bloody hell, Peter, that thing looks more like a dog!" Arthur said, examining the cat as Lily smiled a bit and pet him. "I mean, just look at him! He's the size of a small dog; no there are dogs small than that!" He frowned at the animal, but couldn't help but think he looked like Alfred in some way. Speaking of the American git, he must be worried sick. "Come on, we have to get home or Alfred will freak out." He looked back and saw that only half of the grocery bags had survived the attack; the ones that Lily had been carrying, two of the ones Arthur had, and a plastic jar of peanut butter. With a sigh, he took Lily's hand and motioned for Peter to follow him.

The whole trip back to the apartment, they had no idea that the large cat was following them, lured by the smell of peanut butter.

"Thank God you're home! Where the hell were you?" Alfred yelled as the other three entered the house. The American made his way to them from the couch, the phone still in his hand, and pulled Arthur into a hug. "I got home three hours ago. I saw your note, but I thought you'd be home way sooner! I mean, dude! I almost called the cops!"

"I'm fine, Alfred. We're all fine," Arthur sighed and hugged him back. He placed a reassuring kiss on Alfred's cheek and hung up his coat with the kids before shutting the door.

"Well, what happened?" Alfred asked, the worry not disappearing from his voice or eyes. He studied his husband and the kids before noticing a scratch on Arthur's neck. "Where did you get that? Arthur!" Alfred cried worriedly and gently touched the small wound. Arthur sighed and placed his hand over Alfred's.

"We were attacked on our way back from the store. I'm fine, the kids are fine, there is no need to worry." Alfred's eyes widened and he looked from Arthur to the kids.

"Oh my God! See? This is why _I_ go to the store! I can fight them off! How did you manage to get away?" Alfred asked. Peter smiled and came over to them, Lily following behind.

"It was so cool, Alfred! I kicked the evil guy in the shin and ran and then he tripped and fell, so I looked back and we just sat there and all of a sudden this _huge_ cat crawls out from under the bad guy so I guess the cat tripped him!" Peter said in one breath. "It was so cool!"

"A cat?" Alfred asked with his eyebrows raised. Arthur rolled his own emerald green eyes and took the surviving packages to the kitchen, laying them on the counter as he moved around to put everything away.

"More like a beast," Arthur said bitterly. "The thing was huge! Up to peter's knees at least."

"I wonder where he went..." Peter thought aloud.

"Who cares?" Arthur snapped.

"It's getting colder out this time of year," Lily said. "I hope he's okay. He was so cute!" She sat down on the couch and Peter sat next to her. He looked over at Alfred who went to the kitchen to put away the groceries. However, the American stopped short with a gasp.

"NO! NOT THE PEANUT BUTTER!" He shouted mellow-dramatically. This made Arthur jump and nearly drop a glass jar of pickles. The kids flinched at the sudden shouting and tried to see what Alfred was looking at.

"Bloody hell Alfred! How many times do I have to tell you to not shout like that!" Arthur glared and spun around. "I am ever so sorry if the peanut butter was lost whilst the kids and I were attacked. Why, I can't believe—" He stopped short and looked at the sight on the counter.

Apparently the cat had followed them home and slipped in through the open door. Smelling the peanut butter, he climbed onto the counter and started to lick it through the crack, making the crack a little wider and the peanut butter virtually unusable. The kids jumped up and look, both with a huge smile on their faces.

"The kitty!" Lily squealed with joy.

"He followed us home!" Peter smiled and pet the cat who shook his head, but otherwise focused on the peanut butter. Alfred looked utterly heartbroken, Arthur looked both pissed and confused, and the kids were overjoyed.

"Can we keep him? Please?" Lily begged.

"Yeah! Please, jerk-Arthur! Please!" Peter whined and pet the cat protectively. Before Arthur could say no, Alfred snapped out of his peanut butter heartbreak and smiled at the cat.

"Sure!"

"NO!" Arthur shouted. "We can barely afford to keep the kids. And now you want to adopt a smelly, dirty, stray cat? Hell no." The kids whined, as did Alfred much to Arthur's annoyance. The American came over and hugged Arthur.

"Please, babe? He likes peanut butter! That ain't too expensive!" he reasoned.

"Isn't." Arthur corrected. "And no, we are not keeping a cat!"

The three whined again, but Arthur held firm. "B-But," Lily whined. "He's so cute! And it's getting so cold now! What if he gets hurt or sick or cold?"

"Then that's his problem," Arthur said coldly and picked the cat off the table. He let out a meow of protest as he was lifted. "Bloody... This stupid cat is huge!" Arthur struggled to lift the cat up and ended up dropping him. The cat looked longingly at the peanut butter, but decided it was best to hide from the Brit. So, he hid behind Alfred's legs since he was the tallest in the room. The American smiled and rubbed the cat's head.

"I say we keep him," Alfred declared.

"I say we don't." Arthur snapped.

"But he's soooo cute!" Alfred whined.

"So?"

"Soooo, I'm cute and you don't throw me on the street!"

"Well, I ought to." Alfred whined and Arthur huffed.

"Fine. We can keep it—"

"Him," Alfred corrected. "He's a dude."

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Fine, 'him.' We can keep him if you're going to bloody whine about it." Alfred and the kids cheered. The cat must have understood and meow-ed happily.

"What should we name him?" Lily asked.

"How about... Peanut?" Peter suggested.

"No," Alfred frowned. "That's too generic. Too obvious..." His eyes then widened. "I got it! Nugget!"

"Nugget?" Lily asked.

"Why Nugget, I dare ask," Arthur sighed.

"Like a chicken McNugget!" Alfred explained. Arthur hit his head with his palm and sighed again. Lily and Peter smiled brightly.

"I like it!" Peter said.

Lily smiled. "Me too!"

"Well, then welcome to the family, Nugget!" Alfred grinned. Nugget meowed again and jumped on the counter to eat more peanut butter.

That night when everyone was asleep, the white and brown cat climbed onto Alfred and Arthur's bed. He curled up at their feet and fell asleep on the soft blankets with a sigh.

* * *

><p><em>Finally a new chapter! ^^ Yay~ Ameri-Cat is now here! Everyone names him Hero, so I thought I'd be different and name him Nugget~<em>

_Next chapter should be a Christmas chapter where Arthur gets a BIG surprise~_

_Sorry for the huge delay. I'm trying to get inspiration for ALL my stories. But whatevs. Hey, follow me at kittyfaeriex . tumblr . com (no spaces). That's my Tumblr which I have grown addicted to!_

_Anyway, review please ~ Thank you so much for your support!_


	8. Merry Christmas

The days passed by blissfully, much to the happiness of the small family. Christmas was fast approaching on the city and for once, Alfred and Arthur were excited. In the past years, they had given each other little gifts. Usually, they were no more than coupon books (from Alfred) or short poems (from Arthur) since they couldn't afford many material items. This was fine with them and they spend the day together on the couch, watching the Christmas specials. They would order take out for dinner and call it a holiday well done.

However, now they had the two children to think about. Peter and Lily knew they wouldn't get much, if anything. This didn't have to be explained to them, they had lived for years not expecting anything for Christmas. Peter claimed the holiday was 'stupid' and Lily never made any comment. In the past years, she would just give Peter a hug and say "Merry Christmas" and that was a good enough gift for the boy.

But Alfred had gotten a small bonus for completing the case (and winning, by the way) and his bosses had been nice enough to give him a Christmas bonus. It wasn't nearly enough for anything special or huge, but he was going to make it work. Arthur gave the children five dollars each to buy presents and Alfred had given them another five. Because, honestly, what could you buy for three people with five dollars? Candy? Jeeze, Arthur!

Yes, ten dollars wasn't a lot, but the children were very resourceful. They had lived on the streets for a long time and knew how to make something last. Ten dollars would be more than enough. Now they just had to figure out what to get for Alfred and Arthur. And for each other, but they knew each other well enough.

Alfred was going to take them to the mall the day before Christmas Eve. Arthur yelled at him, saying that he always did things last minute and that his presents were already bought and wrapped. Alfred whined and complained, saying that he didn't have enough time to which Arthur shot back that he had plenty of time and spent it all in front of the television. Alfred thought it would be best to not mention how important seeing that episode was.

"Well, then get yourselves ready," Arthur sighed. "Lily, come here. I'll brush your hair for you if you'd like and straighten your bow." Lily smiled and came over, handing Arthur a brush. The Brit sat down on the chair and put Lily on his lap as he started to brush her hair. "You're so light, love. It's hard to believe you're ten."

"She needs some meat on her bones," Alfred commented as he passed by the kitchen to put the clean dishes away. "But don't you worry, kiddo. We'll get you some skin on those bones. That's why we need more hamburgers!" Arthur rolled his eyes.

"We need to get her to a healthy weight, not make her fat," Arthur said. "And hamburgers will make her and Peter fatasses like you." Lily giggled at the word.

"Language, Artie," Alfred reminded with a smirk.

"Oh, sod off. They've heard it before," Arthur grumbled and took out Lily's bow so he could start brushing her shoulder length golden hair.

"Someone's grumpy," Alfred commented, making Arthur turn around and glare at him. He put his hands up in defense and whined. "Dude! Sorry! Jeeze, what has you so upset? Christmas is in two days!" Alfred didn't realize that was the reason why Arthur was so upset. He had already picked up his gifts, but he didn't think they were very good and, though lazing around on Christmas with his husband was a wonderful way to spend the holiday, he still wished they could do something more especially now that they had children.

"Nothing," he sighed and Alfred frowned, but didn't press the issue. Arthur returned to brushing Lily's hair, something he loved to do, and Alfred finished with the dishes and went to his room to change into warmer clothes.

Lily noticed that Arthur seemed upset, but was too timid to ask, so she sat in somewhat awkward silence, the only noise being the brush going through her hair. He pinned up a section of her hair with his finger and picked up the purple bow. He paused and looked at it, feeling the frayed and worn fabric. She must have had it for a long time. It was, unfortunately, falling apart.

"Where did you get your ribbon, Lily?" Arthur asked after a moment and looked at the girl. She turned her head and smiled, but it was a tight and somewhat sad smile.

"My brother got it for me!" she explained. Arthur would have just nodded and accepted it as being Peter, but something in her tone told him it wasn't the other blonde boy.

"Peter?" he asked.

"No, my real brother. Peter's not my real brother." Lily got a far off look in her eyes and smiled a bit as she looked at the ribbon fondly. "My real brother, Vash. He got me the ribbon when I was three." Arthur blinked. So Lily did have other family? Well, if she was in an orphanage, they probably weren't alive.

"Really?" Arthur asked, intrigued. "I didn't know you had a brother." Lily's smile brightened. She loved talking about her older brother, but didn't often because Peter never seemed to care. He had told the girl that if they were going to start a new life together, she had to forget about her family or she would be held back. Lily never actually did that, but made Peter think she did.

"I do," she said. "We're seven years apart. When I was three, he was ten and we lived with our mom in a different state. Vash was born in Switzerland and I was born in Liechtenstein. Our dad died before I was born and after I was born, we moved to America.

When I was three, I had a really cool ribbon with flowers and kittens on it! I love flowers and kittens," Lily giggled. "But I lost it at my preschool one day and I was real sad because I really liked it a lot. So Vash took all of the money he had gotten from chores, which wasn't a lot 'cause we didn't have a lotta money, and went to the fabric store and bought me that ribbon. It doesn't have flowers or kittens, but my big brother bought it for me, so I love it a lot!"

Arthur smiled at her and held the ribbon with more care as he pinned her hair again and clipped the ribbon in. "That was very sweet of him. You must be luck to have such a wonderful brother," Arthur commented and brushed through her hair again. Then, a thought struck him and he was almost afraid to ask. "Lily... Where is your brother now, love?" he asked kindly, hoping his tone indicated that she didn't have to answer if she didn't want to.

Lily frowned and played with the hem of her dress. "Well, when I was four, there was a fire..." she started. "Mommy died and Vash... I dunno what happened to him. Vash was at school when it happened and I was at home. I got out, but Mommy didn't and before I could get to Vash, they took me away to an orphanage." Arthur frowned. How could they separate children like that?

"Do you know where Vash is now?" he asked. Lily shook her head.

"No, but I like to think that he was adopted by a real nice family and taken to live in a big house with people who will love him!" She offered a tight smile. "And that's why I always wear that ribbon. 'Cause I hope that he'll notice and recognize it and realize that I'm his sister!"

Arthur smiled at her innocent hope. He finished brushing her hair and set the comb down, then hugged her tightly. Lily blinked, but smiled and hugged Arthur back.

"Awww! Someone's having a moment!" Alfred had returned and was grabbing his wallet off the counter. Arthur jumped at the sudden noise and glared at his husband.

"Yes, we were and you ruined it," Arthur growled and released Lily. The girl slipped off his lap and went to the front hall to get her coat. Peter came out then and got his own coat.

"You were having a moment?" he asked, mostly questioning Lily as she was closet to him.

"Yeah! Mr. Arthur hugged me," she smiled brightly.

"I didn't know he was capable of hugging," Peter smirked. Arthur stood up with a huff and put the brush away.

"I am extremely capable of hugging! I can show affection!" he insisted as he walked away from the drawer and tripped over Nugget, the cat, as he was going to his food bowl. The dog-like cat hissed and yelped, scampering away while Arthur let out a string of swears and curses. "Damned cat! Stupid flea-bitten animal! Dammit!"

"Alright, alright," Alfred sighed and helped stand Arthur upright. "You hurt, babe?" he asked with genuine concern.

"No, but—"

"Then it's all good! Nugget didn't mean to trip you up. He just wanted some food."

"I still hate that cat," Arthur mumbled.

"That's not very affectionate, jerk-Arthur," Peter smirked and Lily pushed him, not wanting the boy to get Arthur going when he already seemed upset.

"I can be...! Oh, blast it all." He pulled Alfred down and pressed a deep kiss on his lips. Alfred squeaked in surprise, but wrapped his arms around Arthur's waist, kissing back. Lily giggled and Peter went "Ewwww!" After a moment, Arthur pulled away and glared at Alfred. "I can be bloody affectionate." he snapped. Alfred laughed and hugged him, kissing his cheek.

"I know you can, babe. We were just joking around." He smiled at Arthur who rolled his eyes and gave him one last kiss.

"I'm going to take a shower. You guys have fun." With that (and a glare at Nugget), he made his way to the bathroom and closed the door. Lily went to the drawer to shut it, but a small napkin fell out and swayed in the air before landing on the hardwood floor. She frowned and knelt down, picking it up with a gloved hand and looking over the words.

"Mr. Alfred? What's this?" she asked, waving the napkin around.

"Lily, you don't need the 'mister'," Alfred reminded her and came over. He took the napkin from her and looked it over, his face falling. "Oh. Uh, Artie wrote that."

"It sounds good," Lily said. Peter rushed over at that and snatched up the napkin, reading it over.

"It looks like the summary to some stupid fantasy novel," he pouted and handed it back to Alfred, though he wouldn't admit that the story idea sounded good. Alfred nodded and gently played with the old napkin.

"That's because it is. Artie always wanted to be an author, but gave up on it." Alfred sighed. "He used to write all the time, but stopped because he thought it wasn't gonna work out for him. And we needed money—we still do—so he decided to get a 'real job.' That's why he's in med school but I know he doesn't like it."

"So, tell him to quit and go write a book!" Peter suggested and Alfred forced out a small laugh.

"Would if I could, kiddo. But Artie won't. I've told him a million times to find something he actually likes to do, but he won't. So, he's stuck in med school." Alfred sighed and put back the slip of paper, pushing down the others and shutting the drawer. Only the frayed white corner of an old envelope stuck out, but he didn't care.

"Does he still write?" Lily asked. Alfred shook his head.

"He only writes those summaries, then beats himself up for doing so." Then, there was a small twinkle in Alfred's eye. "But I think that's gonna change." The kids exchanged glances.

"How?" the both asked.

"You'll see on Christmas," Alfred laughed. "Now, let's go." The kids smiled and followed him out the door.

* * *

><p>"It's Christmas! It's Christmas! Wake up! Wake up!"<p>

The small bed (it was supposed to be a full, Alfred called the furniture store full-of-shit) rocked and squeaked with the added weight. Alfred blinked awake and rubbed his eyes, looking at the blurry faces of two blonde children. He pat around the side of the bed and picked his glasses up off the mattress (Arthur always told him to put the glasses on the nightstand so they wouldn't get bent or broken, but he never listened) and put them on. Arthur groaned and rolled over from where he was nestled into Alfred's arm and looked up at the excited kids.

"Yes, yes it is. Now go back to sleep," he mumbled and rolled over, his back facing Alfred. The American laughed and sat up, pulling both children into a huge bear hug which earned him squeals and giggles.

"Come on, Artie! Don't be a Grinch. It's only six in the morning! These guys slept later than I used to when I was little." Alfred smiled and ruffled the kids' hair. They smiled up at him and hugged him.

"Can we go open presents?" Peter asked.

"Yes, please?" Lily begged. "Come on, Mr. Arthur! Please get up so we can open presents!" Both children were excited about getting their very first Christmas presents and they were even more excited about giving them.

Arthur groaned and sat up, running a hand through his messed up, ruffled blonde hair. Alfred combed through it to help him, but Arthur swatted his hand away. Alfred let out a whine of protest, so Arthur rolled his eyes and pressed a kiss to Alfred's lips. "Merry Christmas," he yawned and started to get up. The kids got up as well and jumped out of the bed, followed by Alfred who grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around himself.

"Could you please make making the bed easier on me?" Arthur asked with a frown.

"But it's coooold!" Alfred whined.

"Maybe you should wear more than shorts to bed, then," Arthur retorted. Alfred frowned.

"But I'm a hero!"

Arthur rolled his eyes and put on a bathrobe while Alfred kept his blanket. The family made their way into the living room where a small fake palm tree was set up. Alfred and Arthur didn't have enough to spare for a fake tree and certainly didn't have the money for real trees each year, so they used a medium sized fake palm tree they had gotten for their wedding and put Christmas lights on it. The presents were wrapped in purple, not very festive, wrapping paper under said tree and the Children ran to the corner where everything was.

Arthur came back from the kitchen with two glasses of hot chocolate for the children, a cup of coffee for Alfred, and a cup of Earl Grey for himself. He and Alfred sat down on the love seat while the children brought presents over to Alfred and Arthur, then got their own.

"Youngest goes fist," Peter declared. "Lily, go."

"Good," Alfred smiled. "That means the oldest goes last." He nudged Arthur who shoved him back. Alfred laughed and Arthur did as well, starting to get in the mood. Lily smile and started to open her first present from Alfred. Inside was a purple stuffed kitten from the toy store in the mall. She smiled brightly and hugged it to herself.

"Thank you, Mr. Alfred! How'd you know I like kittens?"

"You were telling Artie that your favorite animals were kittens and your favorite color was purple. So, I went and found a purple kitten," Alfred explained. "I know, I'm awesome! But, hey, it's just Alfred. No need for the mister, remember?" Lily nodded, but the last comment went right out her ear as she snuggled with the soft plush toy. Arthur and Peter both couldn't help but smile at her happiness and patiently waited for her to set it aside and pick up another present.

This one was from Arthur and as she unwrapped it, Nugget decided to make an appearance. He sniffed the purple stuffed kitten and nudged it before picking it up in his mouth. Arthur jumped up and swatted the cat away, making the large feline drop the small stuffed one and scamper onto Alfred's lap.

"Dude, don't be mean to Nugget!" Alfred whined.

"Don't be mean to him? Bloody cat nearly chewed up Lily's toy. I swear that... That _thing_ is a dog." Arthur huffed as he sat down.

"He's a cat!" Alfred protested and Nugget let out a small 'meow' as though to prove that fact. Arthur rolled his eyes and mumbled a 'whatever' before returning his attention to Lily who pulled out a dress from the package.

"Clothes? Who gets clothes on Christmas?" Peter frowned in disapproval.

"A lot of people!" Arthur defended. He turned to Lily and smiled. "What do you think?" It was a pink and purple dress with flowers on it. She smiled brightly and hugged it to herself.

"I love it, Mr. Arthur. Thank you so much!" She neatly folded it and put it back in the box before putting it to the side next to the stuffed cat. She then picked up the last present, from Peter and carefully opened it. Inside was a package of ten Bic pencils and a small sketchbook. She looked at him in confusion.

"You always liked watching people draw," Peter shrugged. "So I figured you wanted to learn or teach yourself or something. You don't have to say you like it if you don't." However, Lily smiled brightly and hugged him.

"I love it! I wanted to learn to draw, but never did. My brother was the best drawer ever!"

"Oh, here we go again," Peter sighed, but he was smiling. She smiled back and set the present with the others, then picked up the kitten and held it. Arthur smiled at that and nodded at Peter to take his turn.

Peter unwrapped the first from Arthur. Inside was a dress shirt and blue tie. He frowned as he picked it up, wrinkling it. He wanted to say it was stupid and that you were supposed to get toys on Christmas, but Alfred gave him a look, so he said thank you very politely and went on to the next present.

The next one was from Alfred. Unwrapping it, he found two action figures, one Superman and the other Captain America. He picked up the action figures and held them up, smiling brightly.

"These are so cool! Thank you so much, Alfred!" he said and flew them through the air. Alfred laughed and smiled.

"No problem-o. I saw that you really liked Superman and I think you'll love Captain America," Alfred responded and Peter nodded, picking up the last present. He unwrapped it to find a full sized soccer ball. He looked at Lily who smiled shyly.

"You used to play it all the time when we lived at the orphanage. So, I thought you'd like to learn how to." Peter nodded and bounced it. It hit the ceiling and nearly crashed into the television. He grabbed it back quickly and shoved it under the table, then looked around as though it had never happened. Peter sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose and Alfred laughed, thankful the television hadn't been attacked.

"Thanks Lily," Peter said. "I love it." The two shared a hug making the two adults smile. Next was Alfred's turn.

He picked up a present from Lily and found a TY teddy bear with the Captain America logo. Lily blushed and said she didn't know what Alfred would want, but figured that he'd like something that referenced Captain America. Alfred gave her a huge hug and said that it was awesome and the best present ever. He then picked up Peter's present and unwrapped it, finding Superman underwear. Peter laughed and Alfred smiled, saying that he'd wear them like the hero he was.

Next was Arthur's present. Alfred looked at the strange boxed object and picked it up. It wasn't clothes, thank God. He unwrapped it and gasped. Inside was a square blue and silver GameCube. It had a dent in the side, obviously having been used before.

"Dude! You got be a GameCube?" Alfred smiled brightly at Arthur who blushed and nodded.

"Well, yes. You're always so obsessed with that blasted television and you always rant about the video games you play at Kiku's house, so I figured you'd finally shut up if I got you one," he huffed. Alfred set the GameCube down and pulled Arthur into a tight hug, kissing him gently. Arthur sighed and smiled into the kiss, pressing back.

"You're welcome," Arthur said with a smile after the kiss was broken. Alfred smiled back and handed Arthur his presents. There were three small presents, so he started with Peter's, wanting to get whatever prank it would be over with.

He carefully opened the present and when nothing exploded, he looked inside. Inside was a small sewing kit from the dollar store. It wasn't a lot, just needles and some thread, but he smiled. "How did you know I like to sew?" he asked.

"I saw the sewing stuff when I put snow in your underwear drawer," Peter responded bluntly. Arthur's eye twitched. So that's how his underwear got all wet. But, it was Christmas and not the time to be yelling at him. Besides, Peter would find some other way to get in trouble within the week. There would be plenty of opportunities to yell at him.

"Well, thank you Peter," Arthur smiled and hugged the boy who hugged back with a smile, though Peter wouldn't admit that later. Arthur then picked up another present from Lily and opened it. Inside was a Twilight Sparkle pony doll from the series My Little Pony. Arthur smiled brightly. "Lily, how did you know I watch this?"

"I woke up early last Saturday and saw you watching it and you looked like you really liked Twilight so I got it for you." Lily explained. She had stayed back, wanting to watch with him, but too embarrassed to ask.

"Well, I love it, love," Arthur said and hugged her tightly. "And you're welcome to watch it with me if you ever wake up early again. Lily nodded happily and Arthur picked up his final present. He unwrapped it to find... A blindfold. He looked at Alfred in confusion mixed with anger. Surely he wasn't stupid enough to give him something like this in front of the kids.

"Put it on." Alfred smiled, ignoring his husband's look. Arthur opened his mouth to protest, but Alfred took the blindfold and put it around Arthur's eyes. Blinded, Arthur flailed and shouted, Alfred just laughed.

"Come on! Your present is this way." Alfred stood Arthur up and guided him out of the living room, careful to not let him bang into anything. The children followed, excited to find out what the present would be.

Alfred entered the small study and took Arthur's blindfold off. "Merry Christmas Arthur," Alfred whispered. Arthur gasped and covered his mouth. On the desk was a white, very old desktop computer. It was turned on, the noise filling the room. It had to have been a 1995 desktop, nothing fancy, but everything Arthur wanted.

Wordpad was opened on the screen, the only words being _'Start writing, Arthur...'_. Next to the computer was a binder. Arthur went over to it and opened it. Inside were laminated pages with every single on of his napkin summaries in it. He turned to face Alfred, his eyes filling with tears.

"Y-You... You..." he stared and Alfred smiled.

"I want you to start writing again, Artie!" Alfred said. "You're great at it and now you don't have an excuse not to. Please?"

Arthur smiled and started to cry, walking over to hug Alfred. But Alfred wanted his hug _now_ and ran to him, picking him up and twirling him around. He kissed Arthur gently and deeply and Arthur kissed him back, wrapping his arms around the other's neck. The kids smiled at their parents, watching as Alfred wiped away Arthur's tears of happiness and kissed every inch of his face.

"I will. I promise I'll start writing again," Arthur said and hugged Alfred. Alfred smiled brightly and kissed his head. He looked over to the kids and motioned them over. They smiled and rushed over to join the hug, laughing as Arthur started to cry again, saying how much he loved his family.

The rest of the day was spent playing with their new toys (except the soccer ball; Peter was banned from using it inside) and figuring out how to steal the neighbor's wi-fi. Alfred set up his GameCude and played Mario Kart with the kids. Arthur joined in, but wasn't very good at it so he gave up. They ordered take out for dinner and the kids were allowed to stay up an extra hour.

Alfred and Arthur laid in their bed, Nugget at their feet curled up and asleep. They smiled at each other and held each other close.

"Merry Christmas, Artie," Alfred mumbled and kissed Arthur's cheek.

"Merry Christmas, git," Arthur sighed and returned the kiss.

"You happy we adopted the kids now?"

"Who ever said I wasn't?" Arthur glared, but smiled. "But, yes. I am very happy with my family."

"I love you, babe."

"I love you too."

* * *

><p><em>YAY FOR UPDATING!<em>

_WHOO! Soooo? What did you think of my Christmas fluff? And Artie's present?_

_And yes, I have been watching My Little Pony. GO BRONIES :D_

_Uhm, I know there's more I /should/ say, but I don't know what. So, PLEASE PLEASE review. Please? This story isn't getting a lot of love and it's my favorite to write (aside from my FrancexJeanne) one. And this one is my best written one (okay, that's not saying a lot) but please review? I hate begging. But pleeease? ;-;_


	9. Education

The rest of what was vacation for the city children went by quickly. Arthur had to constantly yell at Alfred and Peter to 'get off the bloody game station!' though, he usually let them continue if it wasn't the childrens' bedtime. Lily liked to sit on the couch while Mario Kart played on the television and draw. She started off drawing flowers and bunnies, but soon tried to draw people. They really weren't the best, but she did show potential.

A few days before school started back up, Alfred and Arthur took the children school shopping. This put a huge dent in their wallets, but an even bigger smile on the childrens' faces. Sure, they couldn't have the nice notebooks with the ponies and super heroes on them, but they weren't expecting it. They were just nice to have _something _they could call their own.

The first day of school was a crisp day in January. Sun streamed in through the single window of the kid's bedroom, making the snow on the sidewalk below sparkle. Lily was very excited to go to school and it had taken her a good hour past her bedtime to finally fall asleep. Peter, on the other hand, didn't seem as excited and acted as though he would rather stay home than go to school for six hours.

At seven that morning, Arthur tapped on the door and came in. Peter groaned and rolled over while Lily sat up excitedly. "Good morning, loves," he smiled. "It's time to get up now. I'll get you some cereal while you get dressed." With that, he slipped out of the room and Lily bounced out of bed. Peter rolled his eyes and got out, going to the dresser where their clothes had been neatly folded for them.

They didn't have very many clothes, but that was alright by them. Arthur and Alfred had bought Lily and Peter new clothes for their first day. Well, the clothes were new to them. Arthur had found a Salvation Army thrift store and there had been a few gems there. Lily dawned a light pink dress and Mary Janes while Peter wore khaki pants and a blue polo. Peter complained that the clothes were way too formal for just school, but Arthur wouldn't hear it. Alfred decided it was best to stay out of this argument, simply because he thought Peter was right.

The two children dressed and were just about to go out into the kitchen when they heard shouting. Thinking it was just Arthur yelling at the cat again, they decided to venture out into the kitchen. However, the next thing they noticed was the smell of something burning and the shouting became clearer.

"I did not bloody burn the cereal!" Arthur shouted at a giggling Alfred. The American's face was red from laughing and the Brit's was red from anger and embarrassment.

"Well, then why is it all black and smoky and stuff?" Alfred asked, still chuckling. The kids came into the room and saw Arthur stand ridged and start to sputter.

"W-Well... I-I-I... That's just the way the cereal is made!" Arthur came up with weakly. "And it's not my fault, it's yours!"

"How is it my fault?" Alfred cried.

"Because you distracted me!"

"No I didn't!"

"Then that bloody cat did!"

"Nugget's still asleep in our room! Dude, you burnt the cereal. End of story!" Arthur gave Alfred a death glare and Peter started to laugh. Lily looked like she wanted to, but realized that Arthur was angry and didn't dare make him even more upset.

"Fine, whatever!" Arthur yelled. He turned to the kids and pointed at the table. "Eat your breakfast or you'll be late." It was then that Peter stopped laughing and Lily looked frightened, not of Arthur, but of possibly being forced to eat the burnt cereal.

"We're not eating that, jerk," Peter pouted and crossed his arms. Arthur looked like he wanted to strangle him and opened his mouth to shout when Nugget came into the room. The large cat jumped onto the table, looked at the cereal, sniffed it, and then did something that looked like a gag. With his long tail, he whacked the two bowls off the table and then walked off. Had Arthur not looked ready to kill everyone, Peter would have burst out laughing, but even the boy who loved making the older Brit angry knew where to draw the line.

Arthur started to scream at the cat and Alfred got the floor wiped up. He then stood and poured unburnt cereal into two bowls for the children to eat before they left. "Here, eat up or we really are gonna be late," Alfred whispered to them, then dragged Arthur out of the room in hopes of calming the Brit down before they had to leave.

Peter and Lily sat down at the table and started to eat the store brand cornflakes. Lily smiled brightly, excited about going to school while Peter looked uninterested. "Peter, aren't you happy to be going to a real school?" Lily asked, noticing the boy's expression.

Peter huffed and took an angry bite of cereal. "School's stupid. This is stupid," he replied shortly, making Lily frown.

"But school's important, Peter! Mr. Arthur told me when you were asleep a little while back. School makes you smart, so it's important to go to a good one. The one in the city isn't the best ever by far, but it's better than the education we've gotten." Lily smiled. "And Mr. Arthur taught us everything we'll need to know to start school!"

Peter simply shook his head and didn't reply. He knew that both Arthur and Lily were right, but he didn't want to admit it. Plus, Arthur probably wouldn't understand the social part of school which, as a young boy would, he was focusing on.

Peter had never gotten along well with other boys his age. He had only ever had Lily to protect and he usually had to fight the boys his age for food. For him, it was easier to interact with kids younger than he was than with people his age and older. However, now he was going to be put in a class with kids he not only didn't know, but also didn't know how to interact with. He knew Lily would get on just fine. She was shy, but could be friendly, and was also very kind. There was not a doubt in anyone's mind that Lily would make a friend on the first day.

Peter decided as he finished his cereal and began to clean up that he wouldn't even bother to try and make friends. Arthur had said that it was important to meet the other children and Alfred made it sound like friends were the most important part of school, but Peter wouldn't listen. He would just sit there and learn and maybe just read during recess.

Lily sighed at Peter and got up to clean as well. She wished that he would have a better attitude. She was worried about him, even though she knew he was probably more worried about her. They wouldn't be going to the same school. Lily was going into 5th grade at the elementary school and Peter was going into 7th grade at the middle school. Alfred, who passed the school on the way to work each day, told them that it was a very modern looking school complex where all the grades were included. However, the elementary and the middle school sections were kept separate. The children had never been apart for that big a length of time since they had met each other.

Arthur and Alfred came out of the bedroom dressed for the chilly winter weather. Arthur was still scowling, but seemed to have calmed down. He turned to the kids and finally put a smile on.

"Good, you're done eating. Well, it's time to go. Go get your coats on and we can head out." The children nodded and got up to get their coats. Lily happily put on her pink and purple winter coat. Peter grudgingly threw on his green and blue one. Arthur helped get Lily's purple gloves, hat, and scarf on, though Peter refused any help. Alfred grabbed his keys and wallet and together, the family headed out.

The sun was misleadingly bright, but the rest of the world was cold. It had snowed the previous week and the roads and sidewalks were clear. People on the sidewalks walked in between mountains of snow on the sidewalks, leaving footprints with their boots in the white dust that lightly grazed the top of the cement.

It took ten minutes, but eventually the small family had made it to the school. It was a single plot of land that included the elementary, middle, and high schools. In the future, the kids would go their separate ways down the indicated paths to their school building, but Alfred and Arthur felt it best to introduce themselves since the kids were starting in the middle of the year.

They walked into the main office building and found their way to the principal's office. A kind secatary told them to take a seat and that they were expecting them as Alfred had called previously to enroll Lily and Peter. A few minutes later, they were ushered into the principal's office.

It was a nicely decorated and large office that featured a nice wooden desk with a large black chair on once side and two smaller, but still cushioned, chairs on the other side. A smiling Italian man was seated in the large chair, a strand of his dark brunette hair sticking up. His smile only widened as he motioned for the blonde family to come forward and sit down. Lily and Peter brought up two more chairs off to the side and placed them on either side of the set that was already there. Alfred and Arthur sat down in front of the man.

"Well, hello!" the man said with a bright smile. "The Kirkland-Jones-es I presume?"

"Yes, it is very nice to meet you," Arthur replied with the same politeness. "I am Arthur Kirkland and this is my husband Alfred Jones. These are our children Lily Kirkland-Jones and Peter Kirkland-Jones. We just wanted to make sure their schedules were correct that their transition into the school system would be sooth." The principal nodded.

"I promise we will make this move very happy and relaxed for your kids," he said. "I am Brutus Romulus, the principal here, obviously. I have been principal for over twenty years after teaching here for thirty."

"Dude, your name is sweet!" Alfred blurted out. "It's all Roman-y!" Arthur rolled his eyes and sighed. His husband knew no manners. However, Mr. Romulus laughed.

"It is, isn't it?" he smiled. "I love it. My parents were very fond of their Roman heritage, so they decided to pick a Roman name for me. You can trace my blood all the way back to Caesar's time."

"That's very interesting, Mr. Romulus," Arthur said with a smile. "Anyway, Lily will be going into fifth grade and Peter will be going into seventh, correct?" He didn't want to come across as rude, but the children needed to get to their first class and even he could tell that it wasn't socially acceptable for their parents to stick around for an extended period of time. It was time they were on their own without the guidance of Alfred and Arthur, yet under the watchful eyes of the school system.

"That is correct!" Mr. Romulus nodded, slightly saddened that they had to drop the subject. He loved talking about his heritage. "Now, do you two have any question?" He addressed this question to Lily and Peter, his gaze flickering between them.

Lily shook her head with a smile, but Peter nodded. "Yeah, when does school end?" He asked this with a haughty and rather rude voice, making Arthur glare at him. Mr. Romulus chuckled.

"School days go until two thirty and the year ends sometime in June, but I'll have to check the exact date," he responded. "Now if there are no further questions, I believe the school day is about to begin." He stood up, indicating that it was time for the parents to go and the children to leave for their classes. The family stood up and Lily ran to hug Arthur.

"Now, you have a good day, love," he smiled at her. "We'll be here to pick you up when school's over. Enjoy yourselves and learn something." He looked over at Peter and the boy scowled. This made Arthur frown, but he forced a smile onto his own face.

"Have fun guys!" Alfred said brightly and took Arthur's hand. "Wanna walk me to work?" Arthur sighed in an exasperated tone, but nodded 'yes,' wanting nothing more than to walk with Alfred. He would then have to walk to classes at the community college and come home to an empty house which saddened him a little. With the children, the house had been so lively. It made the days when Alfred wasn't home much easier to get through. His mind then drifted to the new computer he had gotten and he smiled some. He had, indeed, started writing a novel, but he had only written a few pages. At least now he would have some quiet time to work on his story.

The four made their way out of the office where they would take separate paths. Lily would go to the left which would lead her down a hallway to the elementary school. Peter would take the middle hallway where he would find the middle school. Alfred and Arthur would exit through the doors and go to work and school.

As the couple walked, Alfred smiled as the cold bit at his face, turning his nose and cheeks and rosy red. "I really hope they have fun today!" he said brightly. "And that they make a lot of friends. And that they get good grades." Arthur smiled a bit.

"I hope so too, dear. I have a feeling that Lily, though shy, will meet at least one other kind little girl. Peter however..." Arthur allowed himself to scowl and Alfred chuckled.

"What's with you and him? You two bicker like brothers!"

Arthur mulled this over. "You think so?"

* * *

><p>"I'm so excited! Are you excited? Huh? Are ya? Are ya? I can't wait! This is gonna be so awesome! I just love little kids! I can't wait to meet them! I hope I get a girl! Then I can do her hair and—"<p>

"Amy, would you _shut up_?" Green eyes fell upon a young girl of the same age. She blinked and looked up at him in confusion.

"Geeze, Vash, I was just trying to be happy. I mean, I know you're never happy, but—"

"I said shut up." The boy named Vash turned his head and crossed his arms as he walked down the hallway towards the administration building. His class was going to the fifth grade to meet up with their "little brothers and sisters." It was a school program where the seniors would take on one of the fifth graders as their little friends which would prepare the older kids for taking care of children when they got older and help the younger kids make friends and develop social skills as well as whatever skills their big siblings teach them.

However, Vash was less than excited and could think of a million things he would rather be doing, some of which involved hot lava. His idea of fun was not taking care of little kids. If they couldn't fend for themselves at this age, they never would be able to and they should just give up on them now.

"You know, we have to do this to graduate, so you'd better at least try to like it," the girl named Amy pouted. "And if you make your kid cry, you get an F. It's not written down, but I bet you will." Before Vash could yell at her to be quiet again, she moved on to her group of giggling, gossiping girlfriends.

Sighing, Vash continued along the hallway, into the administration building, and down the hallway to the elementary school. A raven haired Asian boy with deep brown eyes jogged up to him and tapped him on the shoulder. Vash turned and noticed this boy as his friend, Kiku. "Hello, Vash-kun. How are you today?" Now, Kiku had recently moved from Japan and his parents still expected him to uphold the highest respect for even his school friends. This meant adding honorifics to the end of peoples' names. It was annoying at first, but Vash soon grew to appreciate this example of respect.

"Fine," Vash replied to his question shortly. "This is stupid, though. I don't see why we have to take care of a couple of brats and try to teach them the ways of the world." Kiku sighed. His friend could be so stone-hearted.

"I think this will be a wonderful experience, though," Kiku said. "It will teach us how to interact with children and meet their needs. I mean, I do have a few siblings, but this will still be stimulating." Vash simply remained silent. He didn't want to think of siblings.

"Not to mention that fifth grade is a nice year to learn. I remember when Mei Mei was in fifth grade," Kiku went on. "She did have her tempers, but she was a nice sister." Vash looked away. She would have been in fifth grade.

Noticing his friend's silence, he turned to see Vash not looking at him. "Vash-kun? Are you alright?" The Japanese boy gently touched his shoulder and Vash shrugged it away.

"Fine."

"I can tell you are not..." Finally something clicked. "Is it... Is it about your sister?" Vash had confided in his best friend the truth about his past. He wasn't always raised in Elizaveta and Roderick's home. He had told Kiku about his mother and father and of course about his precious sister, Lily, who had died in a fire when she was three.

"She would have been in fifth grade." Vash responded and quickened his pace, not to get away from Kiku, but to get away from the subject. His friend remained silent for the rest of the walk.

Soon, the class entered a classroom and the teacher greeted them. A chorus of greetings resounded around the room as the children said hello to their new brothers and sisters. "Welcome to the class!" the teacher smiled brightly. "If you would please take a slip of paper from this hat and read the name, that would be great! Then match the name with the name tag on the desks and you'll find your little sibling!" She spoke just like a fifth grade teacher would, kind and soft, but with a cheery air.

Vash picked out a name and read the paper. _Clifford Phillips. _Stupid name. He glanced over at Kiku's paper and his eyes widened despite himself.

"Kiku, who did you get?" Vash whispered in a demanding tone.

"Lily Kirkland-Jones... Oh." Kiku looked up at him sympathetically.

"Trade me."

"Vash, it's not—"

"Now, Kiku."

"Are you sure that's the best idea, Vash? It could hurt you emotionally..."

"I don't care. Trade with me now, dammit." Vash glared at him and Kiku sighed. He swapped the papers and the seniors went about trying to find their sibling.

Vash looked through the rows until he spotted a small girl doodling on a piece of notebook paper. Her head was bent not in resentment for the program, but out of shyness. Light pink brushed her face as though she hoped that she had not been counted and they wouldn't make her meet someone.

He paused and watched as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, allowing a bow to fall in front to cover her face. It was frayed and tattered.

And purple.

* * *

><p><em>DUN DUN DUN THE PLOT THICKENS<br>Guys.  
>Guys.<br>GUYS. Dude, you guys are amazing! Seriously! Over ten reviews? Hmm maybe I need to beg more eue /SHOT. Kidding! But keep it up! Seriously!_

_Sorry for late updates. School started a little bit ago and I've been weighed down with homework. But I've been trying to write a paragraph a day, even if it's just on one story. Hopefully it'll help!_

_Anyway, we have some foreshadowing here and next chapter involves Vash and Lily! Whoot! So, review and I'll try my best to get the next chapter out!_

_AND YES ROME'S NAME IS BRUTUS ROMULUS SHUT UP I DO WHAT I WANT /SHOT_


	10. Hospitals and Brothers

The winter went on for the small family and the house was cold more often than not. Lily didn't fare too well in the freezing weather and was often sick. Arthur new just how to get her feeling better, though he had started to slack on his medical homework and focus more on the book he was working on. The computer quickly became his favorite thing because now he had the motivation to write. Because of his dedication to the book, he was about halfway done with the first draft.

Lily had no idea who Vash actually was. Her eyes showed no hint of remembering him and Vash was fine with that. He felt that he was nothing but a disappointment to her. He couldn't even hold onto her when their mother had died. What kind of brother was he? So, he continued on pretending to be her fake brother when really, it was tearing him apart inside to know she's never realize who he was.

One day, while Arthur was once again working on his novel, the phone rang. Sighing, he saved the file and stood up, going into the kitchen to answer the phone. "Hello?" he asked as he picked up.

"Hello, Mr. Kirkland? We have Lily down in the nurse office at the moment. She has a high temperature and I am wondering if you could maybe come pick her up. She really isn't well enough to go back to class, but if you're busy, we can keep her here until school is over."

"Oh, no, of course I can pick her up." Arthur said, already grabbing his coat. "I will be down there in a little bit." The school nurse thanked him and he hung up, pulling on his scarf, hat, and gloves. He was worried about Lily's fever, but because this happened so often, he was prepared.

He got down to the school and came into the nurse's office. Lily was laying down on the small bed and Arthur smiled gently as he came ov\er. "Hello, love," he said softly, stroking her hair. She looked up at him with sleepy eyes. "Tired? Come, we can go home and you can take a nap. When you wake up, I'll make you some soup and you'll feel better then." She nodded, though the idea of Arthur cooking didn't make her feel much better.

Arthur signed her out at the front desk and wrapped her up in her coat, gloves, and scarf. She did feel rather warm, but that was nothing some medicine and a nap wouldn't fix. Lily laid her head on his shoulder as they walked, the cold keeping her from falling asleep right then.

About a block from home, Lily started to cough. At first, it was small and soft, but soon it became more violent. Arthur had to stop walking so he could rub and pat her back for a good few moments before she finally calmed down. He looked at her worriedly as she leaned against him, now completely exhausted from the coughing fit.

"Love, we're not going home quite yet," Arthur decided. "I'm going to take you to the college clinic first and then we can go home. Lily nodded in response, not having the energy to argue even if she didn't like the idea.

"M-My throat hurts," she whimpered and Arthur shushed her.

"Shh, don't talk," he said softly. "I know it hurts. Just try to rest. We'll be home soon." Finally, he got to the college campus and went to the infirmary. A fellow medical student was there and smiled as Arthur came in. She was in his year and had always been friendly. They weren't exactly best friends, but he did strike her up for a chat every now and then.

"This must be your daughter." She smiled, having heard about her, but had never seen her before. However, her smile slowly turned into a worried frown when she saw Arthur lay her down on a bed. "What's wrong?"

"She has a high fever and a violent cough," Arthur explained, brushing the hair from Lily's face. "Can you give her a checkup? I just want to make sure it's nothing serious." The other woman nodded and started to run some tests, mostly revolving around Lily's lungs. Arthur held Lily's hand for comfort until she slipped off to sleep and then went to help.

About a half hour later, the checkup was finished and the two adults sat on the edge of the bed talking with Lily still asleep. The other student handed Arthur a sheet from her clipboard. "Take her home and put her to bed. Maybe put a cool cloth over her head. If there's any more violent coughing, take her to the hospital. How often does she usually get sick?"

"Often," Arthur sighed. "I told you how Alfred found her. She's been sickly since then, probably because she'd spent so much time out in the cold air."

The woman nodded. "Then I'd watch for asthma or a lung infection. Her lungs seem a bit weak. Her heart too."

Arthur nodded and thanked the woman for her help. He put on Lily's coat and picked her up as she slept on. It was cold outside, so he was sure to hurry home. Once they arrived back at the small apartment, Arthur changed Lily into warm PJs and tucked her into bed. Alfred was at the office and Peter was still at school, so it was just Arthur and Lily in the house now. He shut the blinds in Lily and Peter's room and left the door open just a crack should Lily need anything before he went back to the computer to continue writing.

About an hour later, there was a knock at the door. Arthur glanced at the clock in the right hand corner of the computer screen and found that it was only a little after noon, far too early for either Peter or Alfred to be home. He saved his file and went to the door to find a teenaged boy standing there, his breath coming out in puffs and his cheeks rosy from the chilly winter air.

"Uhm…" Arthur said, blinking in surprise. They rarely got visitors, and when they did it was usually someone they knew. "I'm sorry, but who are you?" The boy had to take a steady breath before he could speak.

"My name is Vash Zwingli," he said. "I'm Lily's older sibling." Arthur's eyes widened for a moment and Vash thought that Arthur could tell that he was _really_ her older brother. However, Arthur figured that Lily would have said something before if this boy was truly her brother. Besides, Zwingli sounded a bit odd, and because Arthur didn't know what Lily's last name had been before he and Alfred adopted her, he didn't think that this Vash was her real brother.

"Oh, for the Brother Sister Program at school?" Arthur asked and Vash found himself nodding. "Whatever are you doing here?"

"I heard that Lily went home sick and I wanted to be sure that she was alright." Vash found himself just a little embarrassed at that. Arthur smiled a bit.

"She's fine. Her fever is a little high, though, but it's coming down. She might not be in school for the rest of the week, so if that affects the number of hours you need, I can sign that you were here and give you some hours for stopping by," Arthur offered. Parents of the little siblings had to sign that the older siblings were putting in after school hours with their assigned charge and Arthur figured that was why Vash was here. But then something struck him. "It's not a half day. Shouldn't you still be in school right now?"

Vash hesitated before nodding. "I skipped lunch and the rest of my classes. I don't care about the hours. I just wanted to make sure Lily was okay. I'll go now." He turned to leave, but Arthur touched his shoulder.

"Come in. She's still asleep, but I was actually going to wake her in a bit anyway for lunch. She'll be happy to hear she has a visitor." Arthur smile at him and Vash looked a bit surprised for a moment before nodding and following. Arthur found it a bit odd that he didn't smile back, but didn't question it.

"Would you like something to drink, lad?" Arthur asked as they entered the kitchen. Vash shook his head. Arthur smiled to himself, now able to see that while this boy was a bit stoic, he did care about Lily. What type of parent wouldn't like another kid who cared about their child?

Arthur went into the kids' room, leaving Vash outside in the hall. Lily was curled up under the blankets on her side. Arthur sat down on the edge of the bed and gently stroked her hair to wake her up. Lily shifted, starting to stir. She opened her eyes and looked up at him sleepily.

"Hello, love," Arthur smiled, kissing her forehead softly. "Hmm, you're still a bit warm. Well, it's lunch time if you're hungry." She shook her head and buried herself into the pillow. Arthur chuckled and rubbed her back. "Well, I do want you to have a little something. How about some hot chocolate?" Lily whined in protest, just wanting to sleep, and Arthur clicked his tongue. "Now, please try to be polite when you have a visitor."

This made Lily curious and she looked up at him, sitting up slightly. "I-I have a visitor? Who?" Arthur smiled and motioned for Vash to come in. He did so and Lily's face lit up brighter than a Christmas tree. "Vash!"

Arthur smiled at her. "Vash came all the way from school just to see you, to be polite. I'll go make something for you."

"Mr. Alfred said that you're not supposed to make food." Lily said and Arthur huffed, his face reddening.

"I don't know what it is with that man! I can cook just fine!" Lily made a face and Arthur sighed. "I'll just stick to making hot chocolate, then." Lily smiled as Arthur left the room, partly thankful that he wasn't going to actually cook and partly excited that Vash had come to see her.

"You always seem sickly," the boy finally said. "Why is that?"

Lily smiled a bit and rested against the fluffed up pillows. "Mr. Arthur said that it's because I was on the street so long. Me and Peter had to live on the street or else we'd be separated. We were fine in the summer, but then it got colder and I got real sick. But it's okay! Mr. Alfred found us and Mr. Arthur always makes me better!"

Vash looked at her for a moment seeing how happy she was. This family really was the best thing for her. Looking around the tiny apartment, he could tell that they didn't have much, but they had each other and that was enough to keep them happy.

"Yes, well… Get better. And healthier. You need to be stronger or else you'll never get to school and you need an eductation. That's the only way you'll make it in this world." Lily giggled.

"Okay, Vash. But why did you come all the way here just to see me?" she asked.

"Because you need someone to tell you that you have to get healthier," he replied shortly. She giggled again and Vash's lips curved upwards. It couldn't be counted as a smile, but it was close and Lily smiled brightly at him, glad she was making him happy.

"Okay! I'm gonna try to get bet—" She took a harsh breath and then started to cough. Vash didn't hesitate before he started to pat her back. However, this did not seem to help in the least and she started to cough harder and more violently. On the corner of her finger, Vash saw something red and pulled her hand from her mouth. It looked like she had dipped her palm in red paint, it was so coated with blood.

"Mr. Kirkland!" Vash shouted, standing and trying to get Lily's coughs under control. She coughed hard and bits of red speckled the white comforter. Arthur came running in, worried about the panick in Vash's voice and when he saw the blood specks, he gasped.

"Lily!" He called and rushed over, stroking her hair and rubbing her back as Vash had tried to do. His shirt got a bit of blood on it, but soon she stopped and slumped against him. "Love?" Arthur asked in a quiet voice, gently wiping the sweat from her forehead. Lily looked up at him, her eyes glazed and her face pale. She opened her mouth so speak, but Arthur put a finger to her lips. "Shh, don't talk. Just sleep. You'll be okay." She barely heard him as she passed out against him.

"She's burning up," Arthur reported, looking up at Vash. "Do me a favor and get her school bag. Empty out her books and put in her stuffed cat and her little blanket. I don't have a good feeling about this." He picked her up, wrapping her in the blankets. "I'm going to call Alfred and take her to the hospital, so hurry."

Vash nodded, feeling a rush of panic, and did as he was told. He packed a few things into the bag while Alfred called Alfred at work and was quickly ready to leave. "Come on, Lad!" Arthur called and the two ran out the door, jogging to the hospital with Lily in Arthur's arms.

* * *

><p>A few hours later, Arthur was waiting alone in the hospital's waiting room, twiddling his fingers nervously. He had no idea what was going on with Lily. All he knew what that she was very sick and he couldn't be there with her. Vash had to go home so his parents wouldn't realize he had cut school. Alfred had to work and Arthur understood. If Alfred left in the middle of the day, even for his family, it could cost him his job. It stunk the way his bosses were so corrupt and mean, but there was nothing they could do since that job was their only current source of income.<p>

Finally, the electric door slid open and Alfred followed by Peter rushed in. "How is she?" Alfred asked. Arthur stood and Alfred wrapped his arms around his husband. While it didn't relieve the stress, it certainly helped Arthur to feel his husbands warm arms around him.

"I don't know. She's been in there about two hours," Arthur sighed, sounding stressed and worried. "They haven't told me anything."

"I'm gonna go see her!" Peter said, starting off to the doors that led back into the main part of the hospital but Arthur grabbed him back.

"We can't see her yet," Arthur said, tugging his sleeve. "I don't know when we can, but we can't now." Peter pouted and Arthur brushed a hand through the boy's hair. The family sat down in the waiting room chairs. Alfred had his arm around Arthur to try to keep him calm because he knew how worried he was. They were all worried about Lily and, because of the lack of news on her condition, also extremely nervous.

Finally, a doctor came out dressed in a white coat and made his way over to the family. Arthur opened his mouth, but the doctor spoke first before he could be assaulted with questions. "She is going to be alright," He said and could see the family relax considerably. "However, she is rather ill and will need to remain here a few days. Her fever is high and she is having trouble breathing, so oxygen tubes have been placed under her nose to help regulate her airways. We believe she does have asthma and might have a small case of pneumonia, but the pneumonia is nothing we can't fix."

Arthur nodded thankfully. "Can we see her?" he asked, praying the answer would be yes. To his happiness, the doctor nodded.

"You may, but we can only allow family at this time."

"We're her parents," Arthur said, pointing to himself and Alfred. "And Peter is her older brother." Though they weren't really related, Arthur felt that Peter deserved to see Lily after being so worried over her. Besides, what harm could it possibly do? The two were extremely close as it was.

The doctor nodded and the family followed him to a private room where Lily lay fast asleep. She had an IV in her hand and tubes under her nose to help her breathe. Her chest rose and fell evenly and she did not seem to be in pain at all.

Arthur came forward immediately and stroked her hair as he took her hand. He placed a kiss on her forehead and she mumbled in her sleep. "Shh, love. I'm here," Arthur said softly and the doctor left the room so they could be alone. Alfred and Peter stepped forward and stood by the bed.

"She's pale! Why is she so pale?" Peter asked with a panicked voice and Arthur shushed him.

"Peter, hush," Arthur said softly, but sternly. "She's sleeping, so let her rest. You heard the doctor. She's sick, so she's going to be rather pale. I don't like it any more than you do; it's rather nerve-wracking." Peter pouted and Arthur gave him a look that told the boy he had better be quiet.

Suddenly, the bed shifted and Lily's eyes fluttered open. Arthur looked over at her and gently touched her cheek. Lily looked up at Arthur and reached up to him, her eyes glazed with fever and sleepiness. "D-Daddy," she murmured. This confused Arthur and Alfred.

"Princess?" Alfred asked softly. "Hey, you're okay. We're right here." She turned to look for the voice, her vision blurry and distorted. "P-Papa?"

Alfred didn't know if she was confused or delirious, but he decided to go with it. "Yes, kiddo. We're here." Her hands were still in the air, trying to grab onto something. Alfred gently took them in one of his hands and kissed them. "We're right here, kiddo. You're just fine."

"Lily?" Peter asked and touched her shoulder. "Get better okay? I don't like you bein' so sick." She looked over at Peter and nodded a bit.

"I don't feel good," she whispered out. "I feel yucky and tired and my throat hurts."

"Then sleep," Arthur said softly and tucked the blankets around her better. "Go to sleep and you'll feel a little better when you wake up." He smiled gently and kissed her forehead.

"Don't leave, Daddy," she said with a whine and grasped his sleeve. Her eyes seemed panicked at the idea of him leaving her in the hospital by herself.

"Shh," Arthur said, stroking her hair. "I'm not going anywhere, love. I'll be right here with you." She nodded, accepting the answer, and slipped her eyes closed. Within a minute, she was once again fast asleep. Arthur sighed. "Alfred, take Peter home and get him to bed. I'll stay the night with Lily. You have work in the morning and Peter has school."

"But I wanna stay with Lily! Why do I have to go to school?" Peter asked. "I have to stay and protect her."

"Kiddo," Alfred said, placing a hand on Peter's shoulder. "The doctors know what they're doing. You have to go to school because school is in session tomorrow and you're not missing a day when you still need to catch up with the rest of the class. Besides, you can get Lily her homework. I'll take you over to the hospital when I get out of work, okay?"

Peter looked away with a pout, but nodded, knowing that Alfred and Arthur had their feet down on this issue. "Fine." He grumbled and the two adults smiled at him. This was tough on all of them, including Peter. Arthur leaned down and kissed Peter's head.

"Good lad," he said with a smile and Peter wiped the kiss away. "Now, sleep well, alright? Don't you fret about us; we'll be fine." Peter nodded and Arthur looked up in time for Alfred to give him a quick kiss on the lips. Arthur smiled at him. "Night, love."

"Good night, babe. Get some sleep yourself, alright?" Arthur nodded, though they both knew that he would probably be awake all night. Alfred left the room with Peter and the boy took one last look at Lily as Arthur sat down in the chair by the bed.

* * *

><p>The next day was long and slow for both Alfred and Peter. Both wanted to be there for Lily and Arthur, but they had things they had to do that day and simply couldn't ignore them. Lily woke up at one that afternoon, confused and a bit frightened because she didn't know where she was at first. Seeing Arthur helped her settle down and he told her fairy tales while she rested. A doctor told him that she was doing a little better, but was still pretty sick. She would have to stay in the hospital for the remainder of the week and she was not pleased to learn that.<p>

"But I gotta go to school!" she whined when the doctor had left the room. "I have to do my school work and my homework and I don't like it here! It's scary!"

Arthur gently stroked her hair. "But, love, staying here will help you get better. You know you're very sick right now. You want to get better, don't you?"

"If I say no, can I go home?" she asked with a sheepish smile and Arthur chuckled. It was then that Alfred and Peter came into the room. Peter was holding s small bouquet of flowers and Alfred was carrying a new stuffed animal—a white dog.

"Peter! Papa!" Lily smiled and Alfred looked at Arthur in confusion at being called 'Papa.' Arthur shrugged and Alfred chuckled as he came further into the room.

"Hey, Princess. Feeling better?" Lily nodded and Alfred handed her the stuffed dog. Her eyes widened with delight and she gasped as she took it, cuddling it close to her chest as she called out a breathless, "Thank you!" Alfred chuckled and kissed her head.

"She'll need to stay the rest of the week," Arthur said with a soft sigh. "Her pneumonia is much better, though. She still has a fever and is very sick, but she's starting to get much better."

"But I don't wanna stay here!" Lily whined again and Alfred chuckled.

"Sorry, sweetie," Alfred said, "But staying here will only help you get better." Lily pouted, mad that both her parents had said pretty much the same thing, and Alfred ruffled her hair to make her giggle. "I'm gonna go grab us something for dinner and bring it back, okay?" He said and turned to leave.

Arthur stood, stretching. "I'll come with you. I need to stretch my legs and I also have to make sure you do not buy us complete and utter crap." Alfred laughed and Arthur smiled at the kids. "You two be good. We'll be right back." The children nodded obediently and Arthur followed Alfred out of the room.

"So…" Alfred said. "'Daddy' and 'Papa?' Where in the world did that come from?"

"It must be the fever." Arthur said. "She always called us 'mister;' never once did she just say out name." He ran a hand through his hair and sighed heavily. He was stressed out. This was a lot to deal with.

"Hey, she's getting better," Alfred said with a soft smile. "She might not seem like it, but she's a tough cookie. She'll get better and be home soon."

Arthur smiled just a little and nodded, holding Alfred's hand as they made their way down to the cafeteria. "It's just odd, being called 'daddy.'"

"Do you like it, though?" Alfred asked as they got in line. Arthur paused for a moment, thinking.

"You know what? I think I _do_ rather like the sound of it." Arthur smiled. "What about you, 'Papa?'"

Alfred laughed. "It's nice, you know, because I never thought I'd be a dad."

"I never thought so either," Arthur said in a very soft and tender voice, looking away at nothing. "But it's wonderful. I wouldn't trade them for the world. They've really helped us grow closer, I think."

"You really think so?" He asked and Arthur nodded.

"It's nice to have someone who completely depends on us. We have each other, but it's different with kids. They littereally couldn't survive without us." Arthur sighed, looking a bit saddened. "They almost didn't. Any longer out there and both of them would have been goners."

Alfred ordered some food and Arthur did the same. "Yeah," Alfred breathed as they waited for their food to be ready. "They were lucky… We all were lucky."

Arthur smiled up at him and placed a kiss on his cheek. "We were. And we'll get through this." He hesitated before continuing. "Lily has asthma. They're going to give us an inhaler when she's released."

Alfred simply nodded, now looking a bit grim. "Figured. She's always been so sick, I can't imagine she can be so sickly and not have something wrong with her. It must be pretty severe since she was on the streets for so long."

"Yes, but like I said, we'll get through all of this. And like you said; Lily's tough. She doesn't look it, but she is. She's fought this long to stay alive and I know she won't give up." Arthur smiled a bit, mostly to himself. "She's a Kirkland-Jones. And they are pretty stubborn."

A small smile graced Alfred's face and he pecked Arthur's lips. "You're right. We just need to stay strong and everything will be alright in the end." He picked up their bag of food and the couple headed back to Lily's room. As they got nearer, they heard shouting and soon realized it was coming from near Lily's room. Both of them hurried, worried that Lily was hurt.

"… Brother! Can't you see that? I need to see her!" a voice was shouting and a nurse was trying to calm the person down.

"Sir, I have no proof that you are her brother. I can't let you in unless you are directly related to her and can prove it." She said.

"Excuse me." Arthur said, coming up to the two. "What is going on?" He looked at the nurse and then down at the kid she was addressing. "Vash? What are you doing here? I understand you are concerned about Lily, but she's fine really. All this shouting isn't going to help her." Vash glared.

"I'm her brother, I deserve to see her!" He shouted.

"Dude, who the hell _are_ you?" Alfred asked. He had never met Vash before.

"This is Lily's sibling from the school." Arthur said. "Lad, I know you're taking the project seriously, but this is going too far. Please let her be. We'll let you know when you can come see her."

"No, you don't understand!" Vash growled. "I _am_ her brother. Her _real_ brother."

"Kid, seriously." Alfred said, starting to get very annoyed. "Go home." But Arthur looked at Vash a bit more.

"Miss, please let him through," Arthur told the nurse. "He's her brother. Her real brother." The nurse didn't seem pleased, but having the parent of the child say that Vash was Lily's brother was proof enough under hospital code and she couldn't question it. She left and Arthur pulled Vash into a deserted corner. "You have a lot of explaining to do."

Vash sighed and nodded. "I am her brother. Her real brother. Our parents passed away when we were young. Father died before Lily was born and Mother died in a fire. She was led to believe that I died in that fire too and we were separated. I was adopted into a family a year later and never saw her or heard from her again. But she doesn't recognize me. I think she might have had an accident that caused her to forget my face."

Arthur nodded, listening to every word the boy said and Alfred was looking at him with an open mouth. "If you're her brother… Why haven't you told her?" he asked.

"Because she's obviously happier where she is now," Vash responded. "She has a family and a home. She wouldn't want me for a brother. I'd just disappoint her." He sighed and looked away. Arthur frowned.

"Do you have any idea how much she misses you?" he asked. "She talks about you a lot. She doesn't remember your face, but she remembers she had a brother and you owe it to her to tell her who you are. We're not going to do it for you, but know that no little sister on earth would be disappointed with a brother who cares about her so much."

Alfred nodded in agreement. "Dude, she's your sister. Nothing, no matter how many adoptions or years go by, will ever change that."

Vash looked up at the two men and realized that they were right. With a sigh, he nodded. "Alright… I'll tell her. But not now. She's sick, isn't she?"

Arthur nodded. "Now might not be the best time, but you'll have to tell her eventually. When she's out of the hospital, though." Vash nodded and all three of them walked into the hospital room.

* * *

><p><em>It's been a long time, hasn't it? Sorry for the wait! School killed me Dx If you've noticed, I've changed Lily's name. I think that Lily is a sweater and nicer spelling than Lilli. Hope you don't mind!<em>

_Anyway, Vash has finally come out to Alfred and Arthur about who he really is. Will he tell Lily, though?_

_Please review if you can! Thank you for reading! _


	11. Final Author's Note

Well I guess this is a little late and long overdue.

How is everyone? Good I suppose, right? It's been about two years or so, maybe more, maybe less. Looking back on these works that I published, I see a LOT that needs to be worked on. Now, now, don't say it. Yes, at the time, they were my very best writing, but now? Oh dear GOD no. No, no, no. I cringe at that thought.

I have to say that I've lost inspiration for writing in this fandom, if that hasn't been obvious already. It's too yaoi-obsessed, and frankly, I like the het pairings better. As the years went on I fell in love with fem characters and roleplaying had an effect on me that made my writing and characters change for the better. I still enjoy my yaoi and I adore yuri, but I feel that any het stories I would write wouldn't be as appreciated in the fan fiction fandom

I've also come to realize that writing fan fiction is no longer profitable for me at the moment. I've learned all I can from it. Now it's time for me to really expand my writing abilities and write my own original works. Who knows? Maybe one day you'll see it on the shelves.

I'm not done with Hetalia by any means. I roleplay on Facebook under the name Alfred ChickenNugget Jones. If you're a roleplayer, hit me up! But do keep in mind that my Alfred is straight :)

I am thankful for all that this has taught me. I'm thankful for the friends I made. I'm thankful for that one Spanish class where I goofed off, googled The Secret Saturdays (my favorite show at the time) and stumbled across fan fiction. I'm grateful for my horrid OCs and Mary Sues. And I'm very grateful for the stories I have written here and all the reviews I have received. I added it up once. I think I have a little over 2,000 reviews total. Wow!

Anyway, if this note has not already been obvious enough, I am not continuing any of my stories. I'm really sorry, but please understand that after over a year I have lost all inspiration, I have schoolwork to do, and those stories aren't worth my time. My style has changed and my writing is much better. I don't have time to go back and edit every little thing.

I wish you all luck and good health. I wish you the very best in your writings and readings. I hope you all continue to enjoy the Hetalia fandom as I do, despite its feminizing male characters, yaoi obsessed, fem-hating tendencies. If you're ever looking for a sane fan to talk to, I'm always on my Facebook account :)

Thanks for all the support you have given me. It has gotten me through a lot of hard times. I can honestly say I love you all and I can only wish the best for all of you

~Kat


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